e.    .   .    . 
...  .    •— *  —  I 

l-.nlar   .Ihrahtim   in    his 


')!  proud  CO  Jci.OW 

Unbu-.M  -•   :e  ; 


Nor  dully  prrpoiTcfVd.  nor  blindly  riChf  ; 
Tho  Icarn'd.  well  ,  -veil  bred,  fincere 

rtndnlly  bold,    and  humanely  Ccvrrc  i 
Who  to  a  Frter.-C  h..   Ki.::v  tin  fweetly 
And  Kla<lly   praife  thr   Merit  of  a  Foe. 
HfTC,  Ibuc   he  fit*,   hi.  chr"fu!-AiJ   tr.  kn<! 
A  lirtn.  nnfhaken,    uncomipted  Friend, 
Atrrie  alike  to  flatter  or  offend. 


Printed    by    Benjamin     Mccom,     at    the    New 

Triming-Officc,    (mar  fix    TOWN- HOUSE,    in  Bofton)  where 
BOOKS  are  ,W</.  anj  PRINTING-WORK  dme, 


Titk--pagc  of  Father  Abraham's     \<l: -i<r.  I'."-ton,    1760;    from 
copy  in  Boston  Public  Library. 


Heralds  of  American 
Literature    


A  GROUP  OF  PATRIOT  WRITERS  OF  THE 
REVOLUTIONARY  AND  NATIONAL  PERIODS 


ANNIE  RUSSELL  MARBLE,   M.A. 


B 


Chicago:    The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

London:   T.  Fishet  Unwin,  I  Adelpty  Terrace 

1907 


COPYRIGHT  1907  BY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 


Published  November  1907 


an  I  Printed  Ily 
The  University  of  Chicago  Press 
Chicago,  IIHooU.  U.  S.  A. 


f/3 


PREFACE 

Each  decade  calls  forth  a  more  detailed  study 
of  the  beginnings  of  American  history.  The 
lives  of  our  pioneer  soldiers  and  statesmen  have 
been  narrated  in  many  volumes.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  writers  who  prophesied,  and  sought  to 
promote,  a  national  literature  during  the  early 
days  of  American  independence  have  not  been  so 
generally  studied,  except  in  groups.  Moses  Coit 
Tyler  individualized  scores  of  Colonial  and  Revo 
lutionary  versifiers  and  satirists,  but  the  self- 
imposed  limits  of  his  theme  prevented  him  from 
completing  the  later  services  of  some  of  these 
writers,  after  the  Revolution.  He  did  not  live 
to  accomplish  a  similar  work  in  biography  for  the 
patriot-writers  of  the  National  period  in  which 
American  government,  industry,  and  education 
were  slowly  established.  The  aim  of  this  book 
is  to  recount,  in  detailed  study  and  largely  from 
original  sources,  the  lives  and  services  of  a  group 
of  typical  writers  during  the  pioneer  days  of 
national  growth,  who  revealed  the  standards  and 
aspirations  of  their  time,  and  who  announced  the 
dawn  of  a  national  literature,  although  their  own 
products  were  often  immature  and  crude. 

In  my  researches,  which  have  extended  over 
many  years,  I  have  had  valuable  assistance  from 


166483 


vi  PREFACE 

librarians  at  Harvard,  Yale,  Brown,  and  Prince 
ton  Universities,  the  Library  of  Congress,  the 
Lenox  Library  of  New  York,  the  Athenaeum  and 
Public  Library  of  Boston,  the  American  Anti 
quarian  Society  and  Public  Library  at  Worcester, 
and  Pequot  Library  at  Southport,  Connecticut. 
I  would  also  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  the 
Historical  Societies  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts. 
For  editorial  suggestions  I  am  grateful  to  members 
of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  Chicago.  De 
scendants  of  some  of  these  early  writers,  and 
many  individuals,  have  given  me  generous  interest 
and  co-operation.  Four  of  the  chapters,  in 
abbreviated  form,  have  been  printed  in  the  New 
England  Magazine,  and  one  in  the  Critic.  Thanks 
are  due  the  editors  of  these  journals  for  per 
mission  to  reprint. 

A.  R.  M. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

1.  FRONTISPIECE  :    FATHER  ABRAHAM  IN  His  STUDY.  From 
a  copy  of  Franklin's  "Father  Abraham's  Advice,"  1760, 
in  Boston  Public  Library. 

2.  FRANCIS   HOPKINSON.     From   a   painting  by   R.    Pine, 
1785,  engraved  by  J.   B.  Longacre;   facing  page   19. 

3.  FRANCIS  HOPKINSON'S  "BATTLE  OF  THE  KEGS/'    From 
an  early  broadside   in   American  Antiquarian   Society 
Library;  facing  page  41. 

4.  PHILIP  FRENEAU.     From  a  print,  long  owned  by  Dr. 
Emmett,   made   from  crayon  sketch;    facing  page  61. 

5.  JOHN    TRUMBULL.      From    a    painting    by    the    artist, 
John  Trumbull,    1793;    facing  page    107. 

6.  TITLE-PAGE    OF    "M'FiNGAL,"    first    edition,    Philadel 
phia,   1775.     From  copy  in  Watkinson  Library,  Hart 
ford;   facing  page  130. 

7.  TITLE-PAGE  OF  "THE  ECHO,"  New  York,  1807;  facing 
page  161. 

8.  JOSEPH  DENNIE.     From  a  portrait  long  owned  by  the 
family,  possibly  painted  by  Charles  W.  Peale;   facing 
page   193. 

9.  TITLE-PAGE    OF   "THE    LAY    PREACHER/'    first    edition, 
1796.      From    copy    in    American    Antiquarian    Society 
Library;  facing  page  228. 

10.  TITLE-PAGE   OF    WILLIAM    DUNLAP'S    PLAY,    "ANDRE," 
1798;   facing  page  255. 

11.  CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN.    From  a  miniature  painted 
by  William  Dunlap,  1806,  engraved  by  J.  B.  Forrest; 
facing  page  279. 


vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    INTRODUCTORY:     SIGNS    OF   THE   DAWN — THE 

IMPULSE  OF  FRANKLIN 2 

II.    FRANCIS  HOPKINSON 19 

III.  PHILIP  FRENEAU:  AMERICA'S  FIRST  POET     .       61 

IV.  JOHN  TRUMBULL:  SATIRIST  AND  SCHOLAR      .     107 
V.    A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS         .       .       .149 

VI.    JOSEPH  DENNIE:  "THE  LAY  PREACHER"       .     193 

VII.    WILLIAM  DUNLAP:  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  DRAMA  235 

VIII.     CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     .       .       .       -279 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 3x9 

INDEX 355 


INTRODUCTORY:  SIGNS  OF  THE  DAWN 
—THE   IMPULSE   OF   FRANKLIN 


INTRODUCTORY :  SIGNS  OF  THE  DAWN 
—THE  IMPULSE  OF  FRANKLIN 

The  strong  impulses  of  every  epoch  in  a 
nation's  life  are  impressed  upon  the  pages  of 
contemporary  literature.  The  awakening,  on 
the  part  of  the  American  colonists,  of  a  spirit  o/ 
remonstrance  against  English  misrule,  the  drift 
of  sentiment  toward  independence,  and  the  slow, 
toilsome  victory  in  war  and  establishment  of  a 
republic,  were  expressions  of  a  vital  period  in  the 
world's  history.  The  motives  behind  the  events 
were  prophesied  and  narrated  by  the  writers  of 
this  age  of  transition,  who  lived  amid  its  scenes. 
In  literary  style  their  work  does  not  rank  high; 
but  their  services  to  America,  in  her  political 
agitations  and  her  initial  progress  in  arts  and  edu 
cation,  deserve  some  attention  beyond  the  usual 
"honorable  mention." 

Research  among  the  unfamiliar  writings  by 
American  patriots  of  the  past  has  compensation 
for  much  which  baffles  and  disappoints.  Within 
their  lives  were  heroic  deeds  and  blighting  fail 
ures,  and  the  varied  incidents  form  an  interesting 
record.  They  portrayed  the  customs  and  stand 
ards  of  their  own  time,  in  industry,  society,  and 

3 


4         HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

morals,  with  a  realism  and  faithfulness  which 
cannot  be  fully  reproduced.  The  bulk  of  what  is 
called  American  literature,  from  1765  to  1815, 
was  immature  and  crude,  according  to  the  rules 
of  criticism,  but  within  it  are  suggestions  of 
nature-study,  poetry,  and  romance,  against  a 
background  of  native  scenery.  Later  authors 
wove  these  elements  into  effective  fabrics. 

For  many  years  the  question  has  been  dis 
cussed:  Has  America  a  literature  of  her  own; 
and,  if  so,  when  did  it  begin?  Only  within  recent 
times  would  one  venture  to  affirm  the  independent 
existence  of  such  a  literature.  The  specious  argu 
ment,  that  everything  written  in  the  English 
language  belongs  to  English  literature  exclusively, 
has  been  nullified.  We  identify  patriots  today 
by  the  spirit,  not  by  the  letter,  of  their  writings. 

American  nationality  was  evolved  and  estab 
lished  between  17(15  an(l  1&15-  ^ ne  inherent 
aims  of  the  new  nation  were  gradually  dissociated 
from  those  of  Kn^land.  and  the  divorce  was 
recognized  for  many  decades.  During  the  latter 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  true  racial 
bonds  have  again  been  openly  emphasized.  Why 
should  the  writings  of  this  formative  era  of 
American  federation,  the  direct  impressions  and 
records  of  the  dawning  national  spirit,  be  still  dis 
counted  as  American  literature?  The  themes  of 
these  early  writers  were  localized,  and  their 


INTRODUCTION  5 

vision  was  often  distorted;  yet  a  unity  of  pur- 
posejiistinguished  their  prose  and  crude  verse 
from  the  products  of  the  British  colonists  in 
America  prior  to  1765.  The  dominant  quality 
of  the  later  writings  was  that  rugged  sincerity 
which  is  "the  essence  of  originality,"  as  Carlyle 
has  declared. 

Colonial  verse  showed  a  marked  advance  from 
the  mawkish  couplets  of  Wigglesworth  and 
grotesque  musings  of  Mistress  Anne  Bradstreet, 
to  the  ballads  and  lyrics  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Prime  and  William  Livingstone,  which  were 
popular  during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury.  In  prose  also  there  was  progress  in  liter 
ary  form,  which  is  seen  by  comparing  the  labored 
pages  of  the  early  annalists  and  preachers  with 
the  compulsive  logic  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  the 
Journal  of  John  Woolman,  and  the  varied  writ 
ings  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 

As  statesman,  as  ingenious  scientist,  and  as 
writer  of  pure,  strong  English,  Franklin  has 
gained  a  world-wide  recognition  for  which  it  is 
not  necessary  to  argue.  He  was  a  representa 
tive  of  the  highest  Colonial  development  along 
industrial  and  educational  paths.  His  style  was 
confessedly  modeled  after  that  of  the  best  Eng 
lish  essayists,  and  it  was  disturbed  by  no  uncouth 
efforts  to  seem  "American."  At  the  same  time, 
perhaps  unconsciously,  Franklin  introduced  notes 


6        HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

of  democracy  and  Americanism  into  his  epigrams 
and  treatises,  long  before  the  ideas  or  the  words 
had  come  into  vogue,  and  while  the  colonists  in 
America  were  loyal  and  contented  subjects  of 
Great  Britain. 

One  of  the  people  by  birth  and  hard-won  suc 
cess,  Franklin  wrote  for  the  common  people,  not 
for  the  aristocracy  or  the  lettered.  His  Altna- 
iiiicks,  and  his  counsels  by  Father  Abraham  and 
Poor  Richard  appealed  to  the  mind  and  ambition 
of  the  populace.  In  his  later  life,  famous  as 
scientist,  diplomat,  and  wit,  he  was  in  favor  with 
the  elite  of  Europe;  but  in  his  early  manhood, 
and  in  most  of  his  writings,  he  was  democratic 
in  thought  and  associations.  He  familiarized  the 
common  people  with  the  wit  and  wisdom  of  the 
English  essayists  whom  he  admired.  He  believed 
that  he  could  increase  the  thrift  and  industry  of 
the  masses,  even  as  he  could  lighten  their  drudg 
ery,  by  pungent  sentences  which  would  be  easily 
acquired  and  quoted.  His  activities  and  his  writ 
ings  were  utilitarian  in  aim.  He  advised  the  indi 
vidual  to  increase  his  material  resources,  but  also 
to  broaden  and  sweeten  his  mind  by  contact  with 
good  literature  of  practical  value.1  His  pages 

1  Of  the  748  titles  and  editions  enumerated  by  Paul 
Leicester  Ford  in  his  Bibliography  of  Franklin  (Brooklyn, 
1889),  nearly  all  indicate  the  immediate  effects  intended  by 
his  writings  on  politics,  science,  and  education. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

were  always  readable,  from  the  youthful  Dogood 
Papers,  which  he  persistently  thrust  under  the 
door  of  the  newspaper  office  for  six  months  until 
they  were  published,  to  the  Bagatelles  and  Auto 
biography  written  in  old  age.  The  message  is 
always  practical,  timely,  and  clear. 

In  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Penn 
sylvania  is  a  rare  pamphlet,  containing  Franklin's 
Proposals  Relating  to  the  Education  of  Youth  in 
Pensilvania.2  This  paper,  written  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half  ago,  stimulated  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  to  establish  an  academy  where  the 
youth  of  the  state  "might  receive  the  accomplish 
ments  of  a  regular  education."  It  affords  a 
perfect  example  of  the  practical  aim  and  pure 
English  which  marked  Franklin  as  an  author. 
With  liberal  quotations  from  Latin  and  English 
essayists  and  poets — Cato,  Milton,  Locke,  Addi- 
son,  and  Pope — with  specific  advice  regarding  the 
branches  which  should  be  taught,  he  closed  the 
essay  with  this  self -revelatory  paragraph: 

With  the  whole,  should  be  constantly  inculcated  and 
cultivated  that  Benignity  of  MIND  which  shows  itself 
in  searching  for  and  seizing  every  Opportunity  to  serve  and 
to  oblige;  and  is  the  Foundation  of  what  is  called  GOOD 
BREEDING;— Ability  to  serve  Mankind,  one's  Country, 
Friends  and  Family;  which  Ability  is  (with  the  Blessing 
of  God)  to  be  acquired  or  greatly  increased  by  true 

2  Philadelphia,    1749;   32  pages  and  many  footnotes. 


HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Learning;  and  should  indeed  be  the  great  Aim  and  End 
of  all  Learning. 

Franklin  did  good  service,  during  the  Revo 
lutionary  period,  by  satiric  and  logical  writings; 
but  he  gained  his  renown  among  his  contempo 
raries,  and  is  still  remembered,  as  the  foster-father 
of  commercial  thrift  and  literary  impulse  among 
the  colonists.  He  was  active  in  founding  the 
Library  Company  of  Philadelphia  and  the  Ameri 
can  Philosophical  Society;  he  organized  literary 
clubs  and  edited  magazines.  His  travels  and 
studies  had  broadened  him,  and  given  a  demo 
cratic  trend  to  his  thoughts;  yet  he  was  loyal 
to  British  rule  until  his  ideas  of  justice  were  too 
violently  assailed.  Retaining  that  serenity  of 
outlook  which  he  always  urged,  he  became  a  wise 
MippMitcr  of  American  freedom,  and  wrote  state 
papers  and  political  essays  in  the  same  lucid, 
graceful  style  which  had  already  won  him  a  place 
among  English  authors. 

The  half-century  from  1765  to  1815,  which 
witnessed  the  birth  of  the  new  nation  and  its  first 
literary  expressions,  may  be  divided  into  three 
periods,  of  unequal  length,  but  of  the  same  rela 
tive  importance.  There  were,  first,  the  years  from 
occasional  remonstrance  against  English  taxa 
tion  to  open  secession ;  second,  those  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  to  the  end  of  the 
Revolution;  third,  those  from  1782  to  1815, 


INTRODUCTION  9 

covering  the  formation  of^govemment,  and  its 
assurance  of  life  after  the  victories  and  treaty 
of  the  War  of  1812.  The  prose  and  verse  of  the 
first  two  periods  both  incited  and  recorded  the 
bitter  feud  between  two  countries  whose  bonds 
had  been  closely  welded  and  were  soon  to  be 
broken.  The  writers  of  the  third,  or  construc 
tive,  period  were  less  bitter,  but  still  intense  in 
their  zeal  to  crush  internal  anarchy,  and  to  estab 
lish  a  prosperous,  as  well  as  a  free,  nation. 

The  earlier  writings  reveal  fervid  emotion  and 
strong  argumentation;  the  later  are  more  re 
strained  in  spirit,  but  the  style  is  often  crude  and 
bombastic.  The  beginnings  of  aesthetic  culture  in 
the  later  Colonial  decades  seemed  to  have  suffered 
a  serious  interruption,  j  The  verse  of  the  Revo 
lution  was  inspired  by  no  devotion  to  the  fine 
arts,  but  rather  was  a  virile  weapon  for  the  ridi 
cule  of  enemies  and  the  encouragement  of  soldiers 
in  the  wearisome  conflict:/  In  the  martial  odes 
and  satires  by  Philip  Freneau,  John  Trumbull, 
Timothy  D wight,  and  Benjamin  Prime  there  were 
occasional  lyric  yearnings;  but  they  awakened 
meager  response.  The  prose  of  the  same  period, 
including  the  early  stages  of  the  war,  consisted 
of  formal  correspondence  between  Tory  and 
Patriot  leaders;  heavy  yet  earnest  state  papers, 
like  Stephen  Hopkins'  Rights  of  the  Colonies, 
and  Samuel  Adams'  Appeal  to  the  World;  and 


10      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

orations  from  rostrum  and  pulpit,  by  statesmen 
like  Otis,  Hancock,  and  Patrick  Henry,  and 
preachers  like  Mayhew,  Chauncy,  and  Duffield. 

As  the  focal  point  of  defiance  was  in  Boston 
and  vicinity,  with  open  sympathy  from  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania,  the  most  typical  literary  re 
monstrances  came  from  those  colonies.  From 
Pennsylvania,  in  addition  to  Franklin's  familiar 
pamphlets,3  there  issued  another  series  of  argu 
ments  that  were  widely  read  and  quoted,  Letters 
from  a  Fanner  in  Pemisytvoma  to  the  Inhabit 
ants  of  the  British  Colonies*  The  author  of 
these  Letters,  John  Dickinson,  was  strong  in  argu 
mentation  ;  he  possessed  also  some  literary  grace. 
His  astute  mind  thus  framed  the  imminent  prob 
lem  of  rightful  taxes : 

Upon  the  whole,  the  simple  question  is  whether  the 
parliament  can  legally  impose  duties  to  be  paid  by  the 
people  of  these  colonies  only,  FOR  THE  SOLE  PUR 
POSE  OF  RAISING  A  REVENUE,  on  commodities 
which  she  obliges  us  to  take  from  her  alone,  or,  in  other 
words,  whether  the  parliament  can  legally  take  money  out 
of  our  pockets,  without  our  consent.  If  they  can,  our 
boasted  liberty  is  but  "Vox  et  preterea  nihil."* 

'"The  Causes  of  American  Discontents"  and  "The  Rise 
and  Progress  of  the  Differences  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  American  Colonies,"  in  Bigelow's  The  Complete  Works 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  97-1 1 1  ;  Vol.  V,  pp.  323-38. 

4  Boston,    Philadelphia,   and    London,    1768. 

'  Letters  from  a  Farmer,  etc.,  Letter  II,  p.    14. 


INTRODUCTION  n 

One  minor  incident  of  the  years  which  pre 
ceded  the  war  loomed  large  and  ominous  on  the 
literary  horizon — the  defiant  refusal  to  use  the 
taxed  tea.  This  was  really  symbolic  of  the  prin 
ciples  involved  in  the  later  struggle;  and  so  the 
prose  logic  contended.  The  verse  on  the  theme 
was  in  fonms  of  caustic  parodies,  sneering  odes, 
and  mock-heroics.6  They  shared  in  popularity 
with  the  Liberty  Songs,  especially  that  by  John 
Dickinson,  written  in  1768,  which  was  parodied 
by  the  Tories,  and  the  parody,  in  turn,  was  re- 
parodied  by  the  Patriots ;  the  three  versions  were 
sung  to  the  stirring  melody  of  "Hearts  of  Oak." 
The  opening  stanza  of  Dickinson's  ode  reads 
thus: 

Come,  join  hand  and  hand,  brave  Americans  all, 
Awake  through  the  land  at   fair  Liberty's  call ; 
No  tyrannous  acts  shall  suppress  our  just  claim, 
Or  stain  with  dishonour  America's  name. 
In  freedom  we're  born, 
In  freedom  we'll  live: 
Our  purses  are  ready; 
Steady,   friends,   steady ; 
Not  as  slaves  but  as  freemen  our  money  we'll  give.7 

6  In  his  Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  Revolution  (New  York, 
1856),     Frank     Moore    has    collected     many    of    these    droll 
"Ballads  of  Taxes  and   Tea." 

7  This   song  was   first   printed   anonymously  in   the  Boston 
Gazette    and    Country    Journal,    July    18,     1768.      It    may  .be 
found,   with   the  parodies,   in   Frank  Moore's  Songs  and  Bal 
lads  of  the  Revolution   (New  York,    1856)  ;   pp.   36-47. 


12       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

While  the  first  period  was  one  of  political 
debate  and  mental  indecision,  the  second  period 
reflected  vigorous  action.  Many  of  the  pamphlets 
and  verses  called  forth  answering  sneers  and  pleas 
from  Loyalist  wits.  There  was  a  tone  of  invec 
tive  in  the  writings  of  the  Whigs,  not  alone 
toward  the  English  king,  prime  minister,  and 
Parliament,  but  also  against  many  honest  Tories, 
whose  noble  characters  have  been  honored  by 
later  generations,  but  whose  scruples  were  scath 
ingly  denounced  by  their  political  opponents. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  a  signal 
for  unbridled  joy  among  the  odists.  Each  futile 
scheme,  and  each  defeat  of  the  English  leaders, 
gave  occasion  for  satires  by  Freneau  and  Trum- 
bull,  or  for  a  lampoon  by  Hopkinson. ]  Versifiers 
composed  rude,  simple  songs  to  cheer  the  Patriot 
army,  like  the  variations  of  "Yankee  Doodle;"  or 
such  fervent  odes  and  hymns,  sung  in  camps  and 
churches,  as  "Columbia"  by  Timothy  Dwight, 
"The  American  Hero"  by  Nathaniel  Niles,  and 
"Chester"  by  William  Billings.  Mistress  Mercy 
Warren  and  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge  sum 
moned  a  halting  talent  to  dramatize  The  Battle  of 
Bunker's  Hill  or  to  ridicule  The  Group  of  Loyal 
ists  in  Boston  who  fawned  upon  Lord  North  and 
Governor  Thomas  Hutchinson,of  Massachusetts. 8 

'The  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill:  By  a  Gentleman  of  Mary 
land  (Philadelphia,  1776);  The  Group  (Boston,  1775). 


INTRODUCTION  13 

When  the  war  was  ended,  the  literaturejvvas  <; 
exultant  and  braggart  for  a  few  months.  This 
tone  was  soon  succeeded  by  one  of  anxiety;  for 
many  dangers  threatened  the  new  nation.  Among 
the  problems  to  be  solved  were  these :  how  to  raise 
money  to  pay  the  soldiers  and  meet  the  demands 
of  the  treaties ;  how  to  secure  financial  and  indus 
trial  confidence  with  depreciated  paper  money  and 
stagnant  business;  how  to  prevent  recurrence  of 
riots  and  menacing  conventions  of  various  classes 
in  New  England ;  how  to  frame  a  constitution,  in 
place  of  the  old,  futile  federation  of  the  colonies, 
which  would  be  acceptable  to  the  states  them 
selves;  how  to  maintain  the  strong,  personal 
leadership  of  a  few  men,  without  arousing  fears 
of  monarchical  government.  The  force  and  logic 
in  the  spoken  and  written  words  of  Jefferson, 
Hamilton,  Fisher  Ames,  Patrick  Henry,  and 
Richard  Henry  Lee  have  given  them  rank  among 
the  leaders  of  the  age  both  in  thought  and  in 
diction.  More  crude,  but  also  effective,  were  the 
lighter  efforts  in  satire,  ode,  and  counsel  by  Hop- 
kinson  and  Trumbull,  Humphreys,  Dwight,  and 
Alsop. 

Gradually  the  threatened  disruption  of  the 
country  was  prevented ;  in  spite  of  vigorous  oppo 
sition,  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  the  Bank 
and  Mint  were  established,  treaties  of  commerce 
were  effected,  the  pitfall  of  military  alliance  with 


14       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

France  was  circumvented,  and  the  various  ele 
ments  were  converged  into  an  embryonic  repub 
lic  under  Washington  as  president.  The  stages 
by  which  such  union  was  brought  out  of  seeming 
confusion,  and  the  gradual  growth  of  confidence 
in  the  new  government  among  all  classes,  espe 
cially  after  the  naval  victories  of  1812-14,  are  re 
vealed,  with  graphic  impressions,  in  the  prose  and 
verse  of  the  period.  The  establishment  of  indus 
tries,  and  the  attention  to  education,  incited  some 
of  the  writers  of  the  time  to  extravagant  prophe 
cies  and  boastful  expressions;  but  the  leaders  of 
the  nation  desired  an  interchange  of  ideas  and 
literature  with  the  broader  schools  of  Europe. 

The  war  seemed  to  be  a  serious  interruption  to 
all  literary  activities,  in  the  true  meaning  of  the 
phrase.  On  the  other  hand,  during  the  half- 
century  of  aesthetic  barrenness  and  political  fer 
ment  there  was  developed  a  new  vital  spirit,  an 
aspiration  of  freedom  and  valor,  destined  to 
characterize  American  life  and  writings.  The 
first  verse  and  prose,  after  the  war,  were  less 
refined  than  some  of  the  imitative  products  of 
the  later  Colonial  decades,  but  they  had  a  deeper 
earnestness  and  an  impressive  assurance.  A  few 
of  the  authors  considered  in  this  book  lived  until 
1830  and  after — Freneau,  Trumbull,  Dunlap, 
Theodore  Dwight.  They  had  personal  acquaint 
ance  with  Irving,  Cooper,  Bryant,  and  the  minor 


INTRODUCTION  15 

authors  who  survived  to  witness  and  contribute 
to  our  recognized  literature.  The  struggles 
and  undaunted  hopes  of  the  group  of  earlier  writ 
ers  encouraged  those  of  the  generation  which  fol 
lowed  to  devote  their  lives  to  literature,  art,  and 
science.  Irving,  Cooper,  Bryant,  Emerson,  Haw 
thorne,  felt  the  influence  of  these  earlier  impulses 
and  were  able  to  develop  into  mature  artistic  pro 
ductions  many  of  the  seeds  of  promise  which 
were  germinating  in  the  previous  years  of  political 
stress.  r^ 

The  writings  of  the  ^Revolutionary  and  Na 
tional  periods  were  too  abundant.  Those  which 
are  valuable  in  tracing  the  political  and  literary 
history  of  America  have  been  submerged  amid 
the  mass  of  ephemerides.  To  all  the  writings  we 
apply  the  term  "literature" — by  courtesy.  Moses 
Coit  Tyler  studied  the  authors  of  the  Colonial 
and  Revolutionary  eras,  with  patient  skill,  in  the 
work  which  remains  as  his  monument.9  In  a 
survey  of  this  dawning  literature,  we  must  con 
fess  that  it  was  immature  as  well  as  sincere,  that 
the  crudities  of  form  often  hide  the  true  merit. 
Out  of  the  many,  a  few  compositions  have  been 
remembered,  among  them  the  three  national 
songs,  "Yankee  Doodle,"  "Hail  Columbia,"  and 

8  History  of  American  Literature,  "The  Colonial  Period: 
1607-1765"  (2  vols. ;  New  York,  1879)  ;  The  Literary  History 
of  the  American  Revolution:  1763-1783  (2  vols.;  New  York, 
1897). 


16      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


he  Star-Spangled  Banner."  Although  the 
individual  works  of  the  writers  of  these  two 
periods — of  war  and  confederation — have  been 
forgotten,  and  many  of  them  deserve  their  ob 
livion,  yet  they  may  fittingly  be  recalled  by  stu 
dents  of  early  American  history  and  literature, 
who  will  thus  emphasize  their  influence  upon  the 
progress  of  national  life  and  culture.  These 

scattered    literary    efforts,    from    the    poignant 

satires  and  the  first  impulse  of  poetry  to  the  weak, 
yet  haunting,  products  of  emotional  drama  and 
fiction,  were  the  prophetic  foregleams  of  our 
national  literature. 


FRANCIS    HOPKINSON:     JURIST,    WIT, 
AND  DILETTANTE 


I  roin  a  jaintir-K  liy  R.   1'inr,  1785,  engraved  by  J.   H. 
a.  re;    tv],r'><lurr<l  from  \,itininil  Portrait  C.nllcry  oj  l>istiii£nishc,l 

: 


II 

FRANCIS     HOPKINSON:    JURIST,    WIT, 
AND  DILETTANTE 

The  searchlight  of  modern  investigation, 
turned  upon  American  history,  has  clarified 
many  events  and  placed  a  true  value  upon  many 
personalities.  A  few  characters  have  thus  lost 
some  of  their  traditional  prestige,  but  others  have 
won  long-deferred  honor.  Prominent  among  the 
wits  and  pamphleteers  of  the  Revolutionary  dec 
ades,  and  the  years  of  crisis  which  immediately 
followed,  was  Francis  Hopkinson.  He  was  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a 
noted  judge,  and  a  dilettante  in  music,  painting, 
and  verse-making.  His  efforts  in  art  and  litera 
ture  seem  crude  to  modern  students,  yet  they  indi 
cate  great  ingenuity  and  a  sincere  desire  to  help 
forward  the  progress  of  America  in  culture.  In 
writing,  he  had  a  cleverness  in  characterization 
comparable  with  that  of  Swift  and  Congreve,  and 
in  satire  he  well  imitated  Addison  and  Pope. 
Underneath  the  dilettantism  were  the  principles 
of  a  patriot  and  a  reformer,  and  the  yearnings  of 
an  artist. 

By  inheritance  he  had  a  broad,  penetrating 
mind  and  much  nervous  energy.  His  father, 

19 


20       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Thomas  Hopkinson,  who  had  been  trained  in  law 
and  science  in  London,  came  to  Philadelphia 
about  1731.  Ten  years  later  he  succeeded  Andrew 
Hamilton  as  judge  of  the  Vice-Admiralty  for 
Pennsylvania.  His  taste  for  science  was  recog 
nized,  and  he  became  influential  as  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  of  which  he  was 
the  first  president.  With  Benjamin  Franklin  and 
Richard  Peters,  he  brought  into  life  the  College 
of  Philadelphia,  where  his  son,  Francis,  was  the 
first  pupil  enrolled  upon  the  records,  after  the 
term  "college"  had  been  substituted  for  "acad 
emy."  In  his  letters  and  in  conversations,  Frank 
lin  paid  tribute  to  the  practical  ingenuity  of  the 
elder  Hopkinson  in  scientific  experiments,  men 
tioning,  especially,  indebtedness  to  him  for  the 
suggestion  of  pointed,  rather  than  blunted,  instru 
ments  to  attract  the  electric  fluid — "the  power  of 
points  to  throw  off  electric  fire."  1 

The  taste  for  music,  and  skill  in  playing  both 
harpsichord  and  organ,  as  well  as  the  love  for 
poetry,  which  characterized  Francis  Hopkinson, 
were  legacies  from  his  mother,  a  woman  of  great 
industry  and  endowed  with  charm  of  face  and 
mind.  When  his  father  died,  leaving  a  large 
family  and  a  small  income,  Francis,  the  eldest 
child,  was  only  fourteen  years  old.  To  his  edu- 

1  The  Complete  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin  (Bigelow), 
Vol.  II,  p.  211,  note. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  2* 

cation  his  mother  devoted  her  personal  efforts. 
Entering  the  College  of  Philadelphia  at  sixteen, 
he  had  some  noted  associates  in  that  first  class, 
graduated  in  1757.  Among  them  were  Hugh 
Williamson,  Jacob  Duche,  Paul  Jackson,  James 
Latta,  and  Samuel  Magaw.  Few  men  of  his  day 
were  more  brilliant  than  Duche,  who  married  a 
sister  of  Hopkinson.  As  rector  of  St.  Peter's 
and  Christ  Church  in  Philadelphia,  Duche  won 
distinction  as  orator,  but  his  career  was  blighted 
by  weakness  of  will.2  When  the  British  army 
entered  Philadelphia,  he  recanted  his  principles  of 
freedom,  and  wrote  to  Washington  urging  him  to 
renew  allegiance  to  the  crown.  Later  Duche 
escaped  with  Cornwallis  to  London,  whence  he 
sent  to  Washington  a  pitiful  appeal  for  permis 
sion  to  return  to  America.3 

Choosing  his  father's  profession  as  his  own, 
Francis  Hopkinson  passed  the  years  immediately 
after  college  in  the  law  office  of  Benjamin  Chew, 
the  famous  attorney-general  of  the  Province  of 

2  An   original  copy   of  Duche's  first  prayer  as   chaplain   of 
the   Continental   Congress  is  in   Independence   Hall,    Philadel 
phia.     John  Adams  wrote  to  his  wife  regarding  the  brilliancy 
and  promise  of  Duche   (Letters  to  His  Wife   [1841],  Vol.   I, 
pp.  23,  24). 

3  This   letter    and   other   correspondence   upon   the    subject, 
including    letters    from    Francis    Hopkinson    to     Duche    and 
Washington,  have  been  edited  and  published  by  Worthington 
C.   Ford   (The  Washington-Duche  Letters,  Brooklyn,   1890). 


22       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Pennsylvania.  Hopkinson's  first  political  experi 
ence  was  as  secretary  of  the  conference  between 
the  governor  and  the  Indians  of  the  Lehigh  Val 
ley.  As  a  youth  he  won  some  reputation  by  his 
rhymes,  written  in  college  and  soon  after.  One 
of  these  early  efforts  at  versifying  was  ''per 
formed  at  the  College  of  Philadelphia"  at  the 
commencement  exercises  in  1761.  It  was  printed 
as  "An  Exercise  Containing  a  Dialogue  and  Ode 
Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  His  Late  Majesty 
George  II."  Hopkinson  was  accredited  with 
both  the  words  and  music  of  the  ode.4  The  same 
year  he  gave  expression  to  his  zeal  for  scientific 
advancement  in  a  poem,  "Science,"  which  was 
also  published.  5 

Evidence  that  Hopkinson,  as  a  youth,  was 
strong  in  his  allegiance  to  England  is  given  by  a 
"Dissertation"  which  he  wrote  for  the  prize  medal 

*  Other  early  verses  are  to  be  found  in  manuscript  in  th? 
library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  Here  are 
two  sentimental  reveries,  "L'Allegro,  Dedicated  to  Benjamin 
Chew,"  and  "II  Penseroso,  Dedicated  to  Rev.  Dr.  Smith  ;" 
also  "An  Elegy  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  Mrs.  Ann  Graeme," 
dated  Graeme  Park,  July,  1765. 

•An  interesting  comment  upon  the  piratical  republication 
of  this  poem,  "Science,"  by  a  Philadelphia  printer,  and  the 
return  to  its  original  form  with  the  author's  revision  in 
another  edition  published  by  Hugh  Gaine,  of  New  York,  may 
be  found  in  the  New  York  Mercury,  April  19,  1762,  No.  507. 
This  is  reprinted  in  The  Journals  of  Hugh  Gaine,  Printer, 
edited  by  Paul  L.  Ford  (New  York,  1902),  Vol.  I,  p.  108. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  23 

offered  by  John  Sargent,  M.P.,  for  the  best  essay 
to  be  writen  by  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Phila 
delphia  upon  the  subject,  "Reciprocal  Advantages 
of  a  Perpetual  Union  between  Great  Britain  and 
Her  American  Colonies."  6  He  hoped  that  he 
might  increase  his  small  income  from  law  and 
music  by  an  appointment  to  some  colonial  office. 
To  assist  him  in  gaining  such  a  position,  he  relied 
upon  the  influence  of  two  men,  Franklin  and  the 
bishop  of  Worcester,  a  kinsman  of  Mrs.  Hopkin- 
son  and  a  friend  of  Lord  North.  Some  manu 
script  letters  show  the  preparatory  steps  taken  by 
Hopkinson,  his  mother,  and  Franklin,  to  enlist 
the  interest  of  the  bishop  of  Worcester  in  his 
young  relative,  before  Hopkinson  went  to  Lon 
don,  in  1766,  hoping  thus  to  secure  his  appoint 
ment.  A  letter  from  Franklin  to  James  Burrow, 
to  be  given  to  the  bishop  of  Worcester,  dated 
Craven  Street,  May,  1765,  is  quoted  first: 

Mrs.  Hopkinson  is  greatly  esteemed  by  the  People  of 
the  Place,  as  a  prudent  and  good  woman.  Her  husband, 
Thomas  Hopkinson,  was  in  repute  as  a  Lawyer,  sometime 
Judge  of  the  Admiralty  Court,  and  one  of  the  Governor's 
Council.  He  left  her  a  Widow  about  twelve  years  since, 
with  five  young  children,  two  Sons  and  three  Daughters. 
These  she  has  carefully  educated,  genteely  but  frugally, 
out  of  an  Income  of  a  small  estate,  and  I  believe  without 
much  Diminishing  their  Portions. 

8  Four  Dissertations  on  the  Reciprocal  Advantages  of  a  Per 
petual  Union,  etc.  (Philadelphia,  1766).  See  the  Bibliography. 


24      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Her  eldest  son,  Francis,  had  a  College  education  at 
Philadelphia,  where  he  took  his  Degrees,  has  since  read 
Law  under  the  Att'y  Gen'l,  but  still  lives  with  his  mother, 
and  has  not  entered  into  any  material  Business  as  yet. 
He  is  a  very  ingenious  young  man  and  is  daily  growing  in 
Esteem  for  his  good  morals  and  obliging  Disposition.7 

The  complement  of  this  letter  is  among  the 
Franklin  manuscripts  in  the  library  of  the  Ameri 
can  Philosophical  Society — an  appreciative  letter 
from  Mrs.  Hopkinson  to  Franklin,  after  she  had 
learned  of  the  latter's  efforts  to  interest  her  rela 
tive  in  her  behalf.8  The  date  is  October  i,  1765. 

A  Thousand  Thanks  to  you  for  the  agreeable  knowl 
edge  of  my  Relations  in  England  and  for  the  Trouble 
yourself  and  your  Friend  Mr.  Burrow  have  been  at  in 
obtaining  it — when  we  consider  how  much  Business  of 
great  importance  of  your  own  you  must  have  to  transact, 
how  must  my  Gratitude  and  my  children  be  heightened  for 
the  uncommon  Care  Regularity  and  Exactness  you  have 
used  in  tracing  out  my  Family  and  for  the  favourable 
character  you  have  been  pleased  to  give  us.  The  Marks 
of  Regard  you  are  continually  Shewing  to  the  Family  of  a 
deceased  Friend  is  to  me  a  convincing  proof  of  the  Good 
ness  of  your  Heart  and  I  must  declare  that  among  all  my 
Husbands  former  Friends  I  know  of  but  one  Gentleman 
besides  Yourself  who  has  been  good  enough  to  extend  any 
of  their  Regard  to  his  Wife  and  Children — and  it  is  my 
sincere  prayer  that  every  kindness  you  have  been  pleased 

T  For  a  copy  of  this  letter  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Florence 
Scovel  Shinn,  a  descendant  of  Hopkinson. 

*  Permission  to  print  this  and  the  following  letter  was 
given  by  the  librarian  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  25 

to  show  to  me  and  mine  may  be  doubled  in  Blessings  on 
Yourself  and  Family.  Shall  I  beg  the  further  Favour  of 
you  to  transmit  the  enclosed  packet  and  Letters  as  directed. 
I  send  you  herewith  an  order  on  Messrs.  Barclay  and  Sons 
for  the  expense  you  have  been  at  in  this  affair.  Your 
good  will  and  Trouble  I  cannot  repay  and  must  there 
fore  remain 
Your  ever  obliged  Friend  and  Humble  Servant, 

MARY  HOPKINSON 

Among  the  letters  from  Hopkinson  to  Frank 
lin,  in  the  manuscript  collection  at  the  library  of 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  is  one  sup 
plementary,  in  time  and  message,  to  that  just 
quoted.  After  thanking  Franklin  for  his  kind 
recommendations,  he  continued  in  a  frank  man 
ner,  informing  his  elder  friend  of  many  matters 
of  personal  interest: 

You  advised  me  in  your  last  to  send  Mr.  Burrows  a 
small  present  of  Sturgeon  or  apples  with  a  Letter  of 
Thanks  for  his  kindness.  I  did  write  such  a  Letter 
before  I  received  your  advice;  but  was  so  stupid  that  I 
never  thought  of  the  other ; — I  fear  such  a  thing  would 
be  improper  now  as  being  so  late,  that  it  will  appear  to  be 
done  in  Consequence  of  your  advice  &  not  our  own  free 
act.  But  I  will  write  the  best  apology  I  can  and  will  ship 
some  Sturgeon  for  him 

I  visited  your  Family  the  Day  before  Yesterday  & 
put  Miss  Sally's  Harpsichord  in  the  best  Order  I  could  but 
the  Instrument,  as  to  the  Touch  and  all  Machinery,  is 
entirely  ruined  &  I  think  past  Recovery. — I  think  it  would 
be  very  proper  to  sell  this  &  buy  her  a  new  Harpsichd 
of  a  more  simple  Construction 


26       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

I  have  finished  the  Translation  of  the  Psalms  of 
David,  to  the  great  Satisfaction  of  the  Dutch  Congrega 
tion  at  New  York  &  they  have  paid  me  £145  of  their  Cur 
rency  which  I  intend  to  keep  as  a  Body  Reserve  in  Case 
I  should  go  to  England.* 

Franklin  had  left  England  before  Hopkinson 
arrived  there,  but  the  young  man  met  a  cordial 
welcome  from  his  kinsman,  and  dined  with  Lord 
North,  Benjamin  West,  and  other  men  of  note.10 
He  sought  in  vain  for  a  crown  appointment  on 
the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Customs  for 
Pennsylvania.  The  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
just  as  he  had  left  America,  caused  a  bevy  of 
Royalist  office-holders  to  clamor  for  new  places 
in  the  colonies,  and  by  them  the  first  vacant 
official  positions  were  filled.  His  visit  was  not 
wholly  fruitless,  however,  for  two  years  after  his 
return,  probably  through  the  influence  of  Lord 
North,  he  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  at 
Newcastle,  and  was  allowed  a  deputy  for  actual 
service.  In  1774  he  was  appointed  by  the  crown 

*  Copies  of  this  translation  in  book  form  are  in  the 
libraries  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society  and  the  Histori 
cal  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  An  exhaustive  study  of  Hop- 
kinson's  work  as  musician  has  been  made  by  O.  G.  Sonneck, 
in  Francis  Hopkinson  and  James  Lyon  (Washington,  1905). 

10  Mrs.  Oliver  Hopkinson,  of  Philadelphia,  has  some  let 
ters  which  he  wrote  to  his  mother  from  England,  with  in 
teresting  details  of  the  life  at  Hartleburg  Castle,  where  he 
was  a  guest,  and  of  the  visitors  there. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  27 

as  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Council  from  New 
Jersey. 

Various  influences,  during  the  next  two  years, 
brought  about  a  firm  renunciation  of  Tory  alle 
giance,  and  Hopkinson  joined  in  open  sympathy 
with  the  patriot  leaders.  One  of  the  first  and 
most  potent  influences  was  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Ann  Borden,  daughter  of  Judge  Joseph  Borden 
and  granddaughter  of  the  founder  of  the  town  of 
Bordentown,  in  New  Jersey.  The  Bordens  were 
ardent  Whigs,  and  Hopkinson  began  to  think  and 
write  in  behalf  of  the  colonies,  even  while  he  was 
a  nominal  servitor  of  the  king.11  He  passed  a 
part  of  each  year  in  Bordentown,  and  the  rest  of 
the  time  in  Philadelphia  in  law  practice,  until 
1774,  when  he  moved  his  residence  to  Borden 
town.  In  June,  1776,  he  resigned  as  a  member 
of  the  Provincial  Council  and  was  chosen  to 
represent  New  Jersey  at  the  Continental  Con 
gress.  Thus  he  became  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  three  years  before  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence  were  indeed  critical.  The  hopes  of 
relief  yielded  slowly  to  the  certainty  that  war 
must  decide  the  issue.  To  break  away  from  Eng- 

11  A  graphic  story  of  the  burning  of  the  Borden  house  and 
the  patriotic  defiance  of  Madam  Borden  is  given  in  the 
sketch  of  Hopkinson  by  Charles  R.  Hildeburne,  in  the  Penn 
sylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  Vol.  II,  p. 
319. 


28       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

land  was  a  radical  thought ;  to  suggest  a  possible 
nation  from  the  federation  of  scattered  colonies 
seemed  fanatical  to  many  conservative  Whigs,  as 
well  as  to  pronounced  Tories.  The  history  of 
these  years,  read  in  the  contemporary  newspapers, 
reveals  the  varied  influences  of  legislators, 
preachers,  wits,  and  pamphleteers. 

Among  the  earliest  and  most  popular  satires, 
which  ridiculed  the  weakness  of  king  and  Parlia 
ment,  were  Francis  Hopkinson's  A  Pretty  Story 
and  A  Prophecy.™  The  first  was  printed  in  Sep 
tember,  1774,  when  the  Continental  Congress  was 
convened  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia. 
Hopkinson  here  portrayed  existing  conditions  in 
America,  'The  New  Farm,"  under  oppressive 
treatment  by  the  nobleman  upon  'The  Old 
Farm."  The  king  was  represented  as  the  exacting 
nobleman,  Parliament  was  "the  nobleman's  wife, 
with  avaricious  eye,"  and  "Jack"  was  the  Ameri 
can  colonist.  Effective  use  was  made  of  irony 
and  argument,  in  reviewing  the  results  of  the 

12  A  Pretty  Story  Written  in  the  Year  of  Our  Lord  1774 
by  Peter  Grievous,  Esq.  A.B.C.D.E.  Veluti  in  Speculo  (Phila 
delphia,  1774)  ;  reprinted  as  The  Old  Farm  and  The  New 
Farm :  A  Political  Allegory,  edited  with  notes  by  Benson 
J.  Lossing  (New  York,  1857,  1864).  In  Hopkinson's 
Miscellaneous  Essays,  etc.  (1792),  Vol.  I,  pp.  92-97.  Many 
of  Hopkinson's  early  writings  appeared  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Magazine  or  American  Monthly  Museum  (Philadelphia,  1775; 
edited  and  published  by  R.  Aitkin). 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  29 

Stamp  Act,  the  taxed  tea,  and  the  war-vessels  in 
Boston  Harbor.  The  droll  illustrations  in  the 
later  editions  emphasize  the  absurdity  of  passages, 
like  this  allegory  about  Lord  North  and  Parlia 
ment  : 

Now  the  Steward  had  gained  an  entire  ascendancy 
over  the  King's  Wife.  She  no  longer  deliberated  what 
would  most  benefit  either  the  Old  Farm  or  the  New  but 
said  and  did  whatever  the  Steward  pleased.  Nay,  so 
much  was  she  influenced  by  him  that  she  could  neither 
utter  ay  or  no  but  as  he  directed.  For  he  had  cunningly 
persuaded  her  that  it  was  very  fashionable  for  women  to 
wear  Padlocks  on  their  Lips  and  that  he  was  sure  they 
would  become  her  exceedingly.  He  therefore  fastened  a 
Padlock  to  each  corner  of  her  Mouth;  when  the  one  was 
open  she  could  only  say  ay;  and  when  the  other  was 
loos'd  could  only  cry  no.  He  took  care  to  keep  the 
keys  of  these  locks  himself;  so  that  her  will  became 
entirely  subject  to  his  Power.13 

There  was  an  abrupt  and  prophetic  ending  to  this 
tract : 

These  harsh  and  unconstitutional  proceedings  irritated 
"Jack"  and  the  other  inhabitants  to  such  a  degree  that — 
COETERA  DESUNT. 

To  encourage  the  sentiment  of  freedom  and 
separation  from  England,  Hopkinson  wrote  two 
clever,  persuasive  satires  in  fictional  form,  Letter 
Written  by  a  Foreigner  on  the  Character  of  the 

13  A  Pretty  Story  (1774),  pp.  65-91,  in  Hopkinson's  Mis 
cellaneous  Essays;  edition  of  1857,  in  The  Old  Farm  and  the 
Neiv  Farm,  p.  31. 


30      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

English  Nation  and  A  Prophecy.  The  former 
was  calm  and  philosophical  in  tone :  the  observa 
tions  of  a  supposed  visitor  in  England  in  1776, 
who  was  amazed  and  grieved  at  the  signs  of 
decadence  and  provincialism,  and  above  all  at 
the  obstinacy  of  the  king  and  his  ministers;  for 
they  "have  quarrelled  with  their  loyal  and  bene 
ficial  subjects"  in  America  "because  the  latter  will 
not  acknowledge  that  two  and  two  make  five." 
A  Prophecy  was  an  answer  to  Letters  of  Cato 
to  the  People  of  Pennsylvania,  which  had  been 
widely  circulated  among  the  Tory  newspapers; 
they  were  earnest  and  forceful  in  their  counsels 
against  any  secession  of  the  colonies  from  the 
motherland.14  This  second  allegory,  like  the  first, 
suggested  in  form  Arbuthnot's  History  of  John 
Bull,  and  abounded  in  sentences  of  humor  and 
mock-heroic.  It  was  expressed  in  the  phraseology 
of  an  old-time  prophet,  who  deplored  the  contro 
versial  scenes  in  his  vision,  but  declared  for  suc 
cess  to  the  cause  of  independence. 

Under  the  imagery  of  a  tree,  fruitful  for  many 
years,  planted  in  a  far-away  country  by  the  king 
of  many  islands,  Hopkinson  described  the  growth 

"These  Letters  expressed  the  fears  and  protests  of  Rev. 
William  Smith,  provost  of  the  College  of  Philadelphia,  an 
earlier  friend  of  Hopkinson,  and  one  of  the  most  able  and 
persuasive  of  the  Tory  pamphleteers.  The  Translation  of  a 
Letter  of  a  Foreigner,  etc.,  is  in  Hopkinson's  Miscellaneous 
Essays,  etc.  (1792),  Vol.  I,  pp.  98-110. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  31 

of  the  American  colonies  and  the  benefits  which 
they  had  brought  to  England.  But,  he  added, 
"the  North  Wind  blasted  the  Tree  and  broke 
its  Branches."  The  prophet  was  introduced, 
with  evident  reference  to  Franklin ;  "and  he  shall 
wear  spectacles  upon  his  nose  and  reverence  and 
esteem  shall  rest  upon  his  brow."  Then  follows 
the  advice  of  the  prophet,  that  the  old  tree  shall 
be  hewn  down,  and  a  new,  vigorous,  young  tree 
be  substituted.  This  shall  be  defended  against 

the  winds  of  the  North  by  a  high  wall.  And  they  shall 
dress  it  and  prune  it,  and  cultivate  it  to  their  liking. 
And  the  young  tree  shall  grow  and  flourish  and  spread 
its  branches  far  abroad;  and  the  people  shall  dwell  under 
the  shadow  of  its  branches,  and  shall  become  an  exceeding 
great,  and  powerful  and  happy  nation.15 

During  the  war  Hopkinson's  zeal  for  his 
country  was  expressed  by  service  on  committees 
for  practical  work,  as  well  as  by  his  writings.  As 
one  of  three  commissioners,  under  direction  of 
the  Marine  Committee,  he  assisted  in  the  work  of 
equipping  the  navy;  he  was  also  treasurer  of  the 
Continental  Loan  Office  for  New  Jersey.  Frank 
lin  did  not  lose  his  interest  in  Hopkinson's  career, 
as  is  indicated  by  letters  from  France,  praising 
Hopkinson's  "political  squibs"  and  urging  him 
to  write  more,  offering  him  "gim-cracks"  for 

18  This  Prophecy  is  in  Miscellaneous  Essays,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
92-97. 


32       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

scientific  use,  and  congratulating  him  on  his 
treasury  office.10  In  return,  Hopkinson  both 
solicited  and  appreciated  the  fatherly  interest  of 
Franklin ;  in  testimony,  there  is  a  manuscript 
letter,  in  the  library  of  the  American  Philo 
sophical  Society,  which  contains  some  side-lights 
upon  military  affairs  and  the  varied  pursuits  of 
Hopkinson : 

Phila.  22d  Octr.  1778 
My  dear  Friend, 

Had  I  consulted  my  own  Inclinations  more  than  your 
Ease,  you  should  have  frequently  heard  from  me  since 
you  left  us;  but  knowing  your  Correspondence  to  be  ex 
tensive  &  your  Engagements  important,  I  have  avoided 
offering  myself  to  your  Notice,  lest  I  should  intrude  on 
more  Weighty  Concerns.  I  would  not,  however,  carry 
Delicacy  so  far  as  to  run  the  Hazard  of  being  entirely  for 
got  by  one  who  was  my  Father's  Friend  to  the  last  &  whom 
I  am  very  proud  to  call  mine,  a  continuance  of  your 
Regard  will  be  a  real  Gratification  to  me  &  flatter  my 
Vanity,  as  I  can  truly  say  I  both  love  &  honour  you. — I 
have  suffered  much  by  the  Invasion  of  the  Goths  &  Van 
dals.  I  was  obliged  to  fly  from  my  House  at  Borden 
Town  with  my  Family  &  leave  all  my  effects  in  statu  quo, 
the  Savages  plundered  me  to  their  Heart's  Content— but 
I  do  not  repine,  as  I  really  esteem  it  an  honour  to  have 
suffered  in  my  Country's  cause  &  in  Support  of  the  Rights 
of  Human  Nature  &  of  civilized  Society.  I  have  not  abili 
ties  to  assist  our  righteous  Cause  by  personal  Prowess  & 
Force  of  Arms,  but  I  have  done  it  all  the  service  I  could 

16  The  Complete  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin  (Biffelow), 
VoL  VI,  pp.  421,  422;  Vol.  VII,  p.  294. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  33 

with  my  Pen.  Throwing  in  my  wits  at  Times  in  Prose  & 
Verse,  serious  &  satirical  essays  &c.  The  Congress  have 
been  pleased  to  appoint  me  Treasurer  of  Loans,  for  the 
United  States  with  a  salary  of  2000  Dollars.  Could  our 
money  recover  its  former  Value,  I  should  think  this  a 
handsome  appointment — as  it  is,  it  is  a  Subsistence. 

Mrs.  Bache  has  been  so  good  as  to  lend  me  your 
portable  electrical  apparatus,  which  I  have  got  in  excel 
lent  order,  &  shall  take  great  Care  of;  it  is  a  great  Amuse 
ment  to  me  &  I  hope  you  will  not  be  offended  with  her 
&  me  for  this  Liberty.  I  wish  to  borrow  also  your 
little  Air  Pump  which  is  at  present  much  out  of  Order 
but  I  will  clean  it  and  put  it  to  Rights  if  she  will  let  me 
have  it.  Whatever  she  lends  me  shall  be  punctually 
restored  on  Demand,  in  good  Repair.  N.  B.  Your 
Gim-cracks  have  suffered  much  by  the  late  usurpers  of 
our  City. 

But  I  will  not  detain  you  longer  with  my  Uninteresting 
Chat.  Sincerely  wishing  you  a  long  Continuance  of 
Health  &  Ease,  &  all  the  solid  Comforts  which  a  good 
Man  enjoys  in  the  decline  of  Life, 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 
Your  ever  affectionate  &  unfeigned  Friend, 

FRAS  HOPKINSON 

Another  evidence  of  popular  esteem  came  to 
Hopkinson  when  he  was  appointed,  in  1779,  as 
judge  of  the  Court  of  the  Admiralty.  He  held 
this  position  for  ten  years,  when  he  was  made 
district  judge  by  appointment  of  Washington.17 
As  lawyer  and  judge  he  was  astute  and  liberal; 

17  Letter  of  appointment  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Oliver 
Hopkinson. 


34      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

his  decisions  were  cited  with  respect  by  later 
jurists.  Apparently  he  was  once  the  victim  of 
enmity,  and  was  charged  and  impeached  for  ac 
cepting  bribes,  gifts,  etc.,  during  the  first  year 
of  his  judgeship.18  He  was  acquitted,  and  this 
forgotten  episode  left  no  stain  upon  his  reputa 
tion  for  integrity  and  efficiency.  Four  years  later 
Jefferson  recommended  him  as  director  of  the 
mint,  with  this  characterization :  "a  man  of 
genius,  gentility,  and  great  merit — as  capable  of 
the  office  as  any  man  I  know  and  the  appointment 
would  give  general  pleasure  because  he  is  gen 
erally  esteemed."19 

That  the  lucrative  directorship  did  not  come 
to  him  unsought  is  shown  by  a  letter  from  him 
in  the  Jefferson  Papers,  in  manuscript,  now  in 
the  Library  of  Congress.20  The  letter  was  dated 
Philadelphia,  May  12,  1784: 

It  appears  by  your  Letter  that  Congress  have  again 
taken  up  the  Idea  of  a  public  Mint.  I  beg  leave  to  men 
tion  to  you  that  I  have  long  had  it  in  Contemplation  to 
sollicit  the  super-Intendency  of  this  Department  should  it 

"For  an  account  of  "The  Impeachment  and  Trial  of 
Francis  Hopkinson,  Judge  of  the  Admiralty,  November, 
1780,"  see  Pennsylvania  State  Trials  (edited  by  Edmund 
Hogan),  Vol.  I  (Philadelphia,  1794). 

u  The  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  edited  by  Paul 
Leicester  Ford,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  495. 

" Jefferson  Papers,  in  manuscript,  Series  II,  Vol.  XL, 
No.  27. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  35 

ever  be  established.  Mr.  Morris  marked  out  this  Station 
for  me  when  he  first  formed  the  Idea  of  striking  metal 
Coin  for  the  U.  States.  My  Gim-crack  Abilities  &  I  flat 
ter  myself  my  Integrity  &  Attention  would  be  of  Service 
in  the  Department — but  my  whole  Scheme  would  fail 
unless  this  Mint  should  be  carried  on  in  or  near  this  city. 
The  Business  of  the  Admiralty  Department  takes  up  but 
little  of  my  Time,  &  its  Emoluments  (£500  per  An)  which 
is  the  whole  of  my  Income,  you  may  easily  suppose  to  be 
insufficient  for  the  Support  &  Education  of  so  large  a 
Family  as  I  have  in  Charge.  What  with  the  Depredations 
of  the  enemy  &  my  little  Capital  which  lies  entrapped  (?) 
in  the  Movement  of  the  Public  Funds — I  have  given  up 
all  hope  of  leaving  my  Family  anything  of  Importance 
at  my  Death,  but  my  earnest  Desire  is  to  be  enabled  to 
leave  them  well  educated — to  do  which  I  must  procure  in 
some  line  or  other,  a  more  liberal  Income  than  £500  per 
an.  This  I  cannot  do  in  the  way  of  Trade;  my  office  as 
Judge  prohibits  it — at  least  not  openly — but  there  will  be 
no  Inconsistence,  in  my  holding  such  a  Department  under 
Congress. 

A  few  months  before  writing  this  letter,  Hop- 
kinson  had  written  to  Jefferson,  then  in  Paris, 
asking  the  privilege  of  correspondence  with  him, 
that  he  might  express  his  literary  and  scientific 
fancies  to  one  who  would  give  appreciative  re 
sponse  : 

I  shall  be  happy  to  correspond  with  you,  if  you 
give  me  any  Encouragement.  My  Fancy  suggests  a  Thou 
sand  Whims  which  die  for  Want  of  Communication — nor 
would  I  communicate  them  but  to  one  who  has  Discern 
ment  to  conceive  my  Humour,  and  Candour  with  respect 


36      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

to  my  Faults  &  Peculiarities.    Such  a  Friend  I  believe  you 

to  be .» 

Evidently  he  received  the  wished-for  en 
couragement,  as  he  wrote  freely  to  Jefferson  dur 
ing  the  next  five  years,  of  his  varied  inventions 
and  hopes  for  success  with  them.  Thus,  in 
December,  1785,  he  recounts:  "I  have  con 
trived  a  method  of  assisting  a  vessel  in  her  sail 
ing  which  promises  great  Success — it  is  simple, 
trifling  in  Point  of  expence  &  demonstrable  in 
Theory.  The  Experiment  has  not  yet  been  tried, 
but  will  be  before  long."22  In  April,  1787,  he 
wrote:  "I  have  invented  this  Winter  a  cheap, 
convenient  &  useful  Appendage  to  a  common 
Candle-stick,  which  keeps  the  Flames  from  being 
flared  by  the  Wind  in  Summer  or  the  Fire  in 
Winter."  23  A  year  later  he  announced  to  Jeffer 
son  his  plan  to  establish  "a  Wax  Chandlery"  in 
Philadelphia,  if  he  can  get  some  gentlemen  to  join 
in  his  plan.24  Another  invention  was  of  a  musi 
cal  kind:  "In  the  course  of  my  Experiments  I 
discover'd  a  method  of  drawing  the  Tone  from 
Metal  Balls  by  Friction — to  an  amazing  Perfec- 

n  Jefferson  Papers,  MS.  (Library  of  Congress),  Series  II, 
Vol.  XL,  No.  24. 

a  Jefferson  Papers,  loc.  cit.,  No.  3.  This  plan  was  out 
lined  in  his  Miscellaneous  Essays,  Vol.  I,  pp.  274-285. 

"  Ibid.,  No.  40.  The  model  of  this  candle-case  is  in  the 
American  Philosophical  Society. 

*lbid.,  No.  41. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  37 

tion. — I  am  getting  a  Set  of  Bells  cast  &  expect 
to  introduce  a  new  musical  Instrument  to  be 
called  the  Bellarmonic."  25 

Hopkinson's  legal  and  scientific  activities  made 
far  less  impression  upon  the  people  of  his  own  day 
than  was  achieved  by  his  writings,  with  their 
peculiar  cleverness  and  logical  force.  It  is  very 
difficult  for  us  today  to  measure  the  potent  influ 
ence  of  the  writers  of  the  Revolutionary  and 
National  periods  on  their  contemporaries.  Their 
products  seem  amusing,  rather  than  forceful, 
when  taken  away  from  their  context  and  natural 
environment.  Many  of  Hopkinson's  compo 
sitions  were  ephemeral,  yet  they  served  a  purpose 
of  more  lasting  importance  than  the  issue  of 
the  hour  seemed  to  indicate ;  others  possess  some 
literary  merit  in  logical  force  and  satire.  Among 
the  latter  may  be  mentioned  Letter  to  Lord  Howe, 
after  the  devastating  march  of  the  British  troops 
through  New  Jersey;  John  Burgoynes  Procla 
mation,  and  the  strictures  upon  the  Tory  printers, 
James  Rivington  and  Hugh  Gaine.26  Many  of 

26  Ibid.,   No.    37. 

26  Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Occasional  Writings  (1792), 
Vol.  I,  pp.  121-26,  146-50.  In  Two  Letters  (Vol.  I,  pp.  132- 
45)  he  hurled  invective  against  the  "innumerable  lies  from 
the  batteries  of  Rivington  and  Gaine."  This  was  followed 
by  a  clever  lampoon,  a  mock  advertisement  of  the  books, 
maps,  etc.,  of  Rivington,  who,  after  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis,  found  it  was  "convenient  for  the  subscriber  to  remove 
to  Europe"  (Miscellaneous  Essays,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  159-69). 


38       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

his  tracts  and  lampoons  were  first  published  in 
the  Pennsylvania  Packet,  under  the  pseudonyms  of 
"Calamus,"  "Cautious,"  "Calumniator,"  "A.  B.," 
"One  of  the  People,"  and  occasionally,  "F.H."27 
In  their  original  form,  as  read  in  this  paper,  some 
of  the  attacks  are  truly  Rabellaisian ;  we  easily 
believe  the  statement  of  his  family  that,  in  revis 
ing  his  writings  for  publication,  he  modified  the 
vehemence  of  many  phrases.28 

His  war-verses  were  intended  to  inspirit  the 

Soldiers  in  days  of  gloom ;  and  they  accomplished 

that    purpose.      Among    popular   odes    was    the 

"Camp  Ballad,"  which  was  well  adapted  to  a 

marching-song : 

To  arms,  then,  to  arms !    'Tis  fair  freedom  invites  us ; 
The  trumpet  shrill  sounding,  to  battle  excites  us; 

"  Examples  of  this  style  are  as  follows :  "Calamus"  in 
Packet,  February  9,  1782:  "A  Parody  on  a  Scene  in  Mac 
beth"  by  "Calumniator,"  Packet,  April  2,  1782;  a  dignified 
remonstrance,  by  "A  Lover  of  Candour,"  Packet,  June  15, 
1782. 

u  In  manuscript  volumes  owned  by  Mrs.  Florence  Scovel 
Shinn,  a  descendant  of  Hopkinson,  are  some  scathing 
satires  and  doggerel  songs  like  this  complaint  of  the  Tory 
leaders  and  printers : 

Burgoyne   with   thousand  came 
In  hopes  of  Wealth  and   Fame 

What    hath    he    done? 
At  Saratoga  he 
Had  the   Disgrace  to  see 
Each    soldier    manfully 

Lay  down   his  Gun. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  39 

The  banners  of  virtue  unfurled  shall  wave  o'er  us, 
Our  heroes  lead  on,  and  the  foe  fly  before  us. 

The  single  composition  by  Francis  Hopkinson 
which  has  been  generally  recalled  was  one  of  his 
most  unliterary  efforts,  a  mere  jeu  d'esprit — 
"Battle  of  the  Kegs."  The  incident  which  he 
has  preserved  in  memory  by  his  verses  illustrated 
Yankee  ingenuity,  and  would  make  a  strong 
appeal  to  a  man  of  Hopkinson's  tastes  and  sense 
of  humor.  A  device  by  David  Bushnell  of  some 
amateur  torpedoes,  known  as  the  "American 
turtles,"  was  the  germ  of  the  incident  and  song. 
Several  of  these  torpedoes  were  floated  down  the 
Delaware  in  the  late  autumn  of  1777,  to  annoy 
the  British  soldiers  by  causing  explosions  among 
the  boats.  The  actual  facts  are  given  in  differ 
ent  versions,  but  the  incident,  as  well  as  Hopkin 
son's  verses,29  have  been  mentioned  in  several 
records  of  the  period.  Without  much  question, 
the  mock-heroic  narrative,  in  prose,  which  was 
printed  in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  January  28, 
1778,  was  written  by  Hopkinson,  as  a  preface  to 

29  Explanation  of  this  invention  is  given  fully  in  James 
Thacher's  Military  Journal  during  the  American  Revolution 
ary  War,  etc.  (Boston,  1823),  pp.  75,  76,  146-50 ;  Appendix, 
pp.  452,  453.  On  p.  244,  date  July  10,  1780,  he  refers  to  an 
evening  in  camp  when  "we  were  delighted  with  the  song  com 
posed  by  Mr.  Hopkinson,  called  the  Battle  of  the  Kegs,  sung  in 
the  best  style  by  a  number  of  gentlemen."  For  other  ac 
counts  see  Pennsylvania  Ledger,  February  n,  1778,  American 
Philosophical  Transactions,  Vol.  IV,  p.  312. 


40       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

his  verses.  He  thus  ridiculed  the  effects  of  the 
kegs  upon  the  British  soldiers : 

Some  asserted  that  these  kegs  were  filled  with  armed 
rebels,  who  were  to  issue  forth,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
as  the  Grecians  did  of  old  from  the  wooden  horse  at  the 
siege  of  Troy  and  take  the  city  by  surprise;  declaring  that 
they  had  seen  the  points  of  bayonets  sticking  out  of  the 
bung-holes  of  the  kegs.  Others  said  that  they  were  filled 
with  inveterate  combustibles,  which  would  set  the  whole 
Delaware  in  flames  and  consume  all  the  shipping  in  the 
harbor.  Whilst  others  conjectured  that  they  were  ma 
chines  constructed  by  a  magic,  and  expected  to  see  them 
mount  the  wharves  and  roll,  all  flaming  with  infernal 
fire,  through  the  streets  of  the  city. 

After  an  ironical  recital  of  the  attack  upon  the 
kegs  "by  land  and  marine  forces,"  the  caricature 
closed  with  this  sentence  of  sarcasm : 

It  is  said  His  Excellency,  Lord  Howe,  has  despatched 
a  swift-sailing  packet,  with  an  account  of  his  signal 

victory  to  the  court  of  London.    In  short,  Monday  the 

day  of  January,  1778,  will  be  ever  memorable  in  history 
for  the  renowned  Battle  of  the  Kegs. 

This  briery  satire  in  prose  was  followed  prob 
ably  within  a  few  months,  by  the  rollicking 
stanzas,  adapted  to  the  tune  of  "Moggy  Lawder," 
and  the  jolly  raillery  was  sung  and  recited 
throughout  the  colonies.  The  verses  have  no 
true  literary  merit,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
they  have  swing  and  effectiveness.  The  opening 
stanzas  are  typical  of  the  form : 


UNIVER 

OF 


BATTLE    OF    THE    KEGS 


GAU.».NrSairead,  and   hear  a  fries  j, 
Trill  forth  hannoaioae  ditty  : 
•uiorr  thlngi  I'll  tell,  which  late  beftl 

la  Philadelphia  dty. 
Twai  early  day.  aa  poet.   faf. 
J«A  when  the  fun  wai  rifing. 
A  (oldier  ftood.  oa  log  of  wood. 

And  Taw  a  light   lurpr.unR. 
At  in  a  mase,  he  ftood  to  game, 

1  he  truth  can't  be  deny'd,  fir, 

He  fpy'd  a  fcore  -of  kegi,  or  more, 

Come  loafing  d"wnthc  tide,  fir. 

.  in  (eikin   blue, 

Tke  Orange  appea. ante  viewing. 
Tirt  daian'd  hit  eye*,  in  grea'  l-irprife, 

l~Wo  laid  fame  miCcbic/t  brew 
Tbxie  kcgi  BOW  hold  tl 

Pack  d  up  like  pickled  herru.<  : 
And  tker're  come  diwci  t'attack  the  town, 

!•  thii  new  way  of  terryin,;. 
The  f  jldier  Jew,  the  failor  too, 

*nj,  (cir  .1  alti  •  I  i  ,  death,  fir. 
Wore  , jt  their  (h  m.  to  fpread  the  newt. 

And  ran  till  out  o*  breath,  fir. 
N  ,w  up  aid  d»WB.  through  >ut  tSe  r,*n. 

M  >ft  friouc  fcenet  were  tiled  : 
A«d  tome  ran  htit.  a«  I  I  i-n- r«o  there 

Like  men  aJmsO 

•OWK »rr  ery'd,  which  lo.n-    leny'd, 
But  laid  the  earth  bad  <t 


wing, 
bold. 


Upon  one  fi  of  be  had  ODC  Snit, 

And  t  'in her  ia  hit  hand,  Gr. 
Arifr  !,r,fel  Sir  ErOune  cne,  ; 

The  rebels  mote,  the  pit,— 
XVjihout  a  boat,  are  all  oa  luaf, 

Aad  rang'd  before  the  city. 
The  mo.lv  trew,  in  reOel.  B«W. 

Wiihlatan  k.r  theirgu.de.  fir. 
Pick'd  up  in  bagt,  or  wouden  ke«; 
C  roe  driving  dowa  the  tide.  fir. 
Therefore  prepare  for  bloodr  war  i 
IhfCe  kegt  mult  all  be  ruu  ed  ^ 
Or  fatciy  we  delpit'd  Ihall  be, 

And  Briiith  courage   dountedf 

The  rt.vjl  band  n  iw  ready  liind. 

All  rang'd  in  dread  array,  fir, 

With  duoiach  a.iut.  to  lee  it  out. 

And  mike  a  bloody  dar.  Gr. 
The  cmn  jn<  roar,  from  ih  .  f  t:i  Chore  | 

rhe  (mill  arm*  mike  a  rattle  : 
Since  wart  began,  I'm  (ure  n  >  maa 
L  er  law  I  j  itraage  a  battle. 

ow  iwam  to  and  fro, 
\     .   »   1  from  ev'ry  .j'jarter  t 


Ran  through  the  town  li»lf  uakcj. 
Sir  W.IUaia  be,  (oag  at  a  Ac 


l..y  all  tbi.  tin.  a  fuono 
Jreami  of  harm, 
bci  with  MJI.  L 


of  harm,  at  be 


Now  in  affright,  he  iti.i.  uprlgSt, 

Awak'd  by  (»ch  a  clatter  i 
He  rub,  botk  eye..  ..d  '...Mly  crie.. 

"For  Ood'i  f«ke  wh.f,  the  matter  »" 

At  hit  Ud  iJe.  be  t  Hen  efpy'd 
•if  ErfluM  M  «OBHU»4,  f  r. 


.     .ve  the  water. 
tit  («i i.  inj-iU-ngly  made, 
Ol  rebel  Havet  and  hoof*    lir, 
>  Cpole  their  pow'rlul  foe:, 

Ihecuc.i  ring  DritiOi  troop*.  6r. 
From  in.i.-u  19  ni^ht,  tiiefe  mea  o(  mijht 
Uifplayd  amating  c-.ur»ge  j 

t!-e(jB  w«»  fairly  down, 
Kctir','  to  lap  their  porridge: 

D-eti  wi'h  e«rh  a peo. 
Or  ITKH.:  upon  my  word,  tar, 

'  -ru«,  would  bfl  ICMifcw, 
Their  valjur  to  record,  lir. 

.  i,. I  they  peri  jrm  that  daf 
UIMI.  thefe  •*  .   ^ed  k-^,.  i.r. 
That  yeiri  t  ,  c  ,,u:.  .1  it- y  get  borne. 

-*c  tluir  bo*4U»eu  bray,  fir. 


lajr  warm 


From  an  undated  ballad-broadside,  in  American  Antiquarian 
Srcicty  Library. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  41 

Gallants,  attend,  and  hear  a  friend 

Trill  forth  harmonious  ditty; 
Strange  things   I'll  tell  which  late  befell 

In   Philadelphia  city. 

'Twas  early  day,  as  poets  say, 

Just  when  the  sun  was  rising, 
A  soldier  stood  on  a  log  of  wood 

And  saw  a  thing  surprising. 

A  sailor  too,  in  jerkin  blue, 

This  strange  appearance  viewing, 
First  rubb'd  his  eyes,  in  great  surprise 

Then  said — "some  mischief's  brewing; 

"These   kegs,    I'm   told,   the   rebels   hold, 

Packed  up  like  pickled  herring; 
And  they've  come  down  t'  attack  the  town, 
In  this  new  way  of  ferrying"80 

As  an  example  of  Hopkinson's  more  dignified 
method  of  writing,  one  may  choose  the  tract,  A 
Political  Catechism,  written  after  Washington's 
successful  raid  at  Trenton  and  the  apparent  col 
lapse  of  the  British  commanders.  Contrasting  the 
pampered  Royalists  with  the  American  general, 
he  extolled  Washington  in  terms  of  hero-worship : 

80  This  ballad  appeared  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet,  March 
4,  1778;  its  first  printing  was  in  1779  by  B.  Towne,  Phila 
delphia  (see  Hildeburne's  Issues  of  the  Press  of  Pennsylvania, 
1885-86,  Vol.  II.  p.  336).  A  broadside  here  photographed  is  in 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society.  The  ballad  is  in  Hopkin 
son's  Miscellaneous  Essays,  etc.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  169.  An  edition 
was  printed  in  1866  by  the  Oakwood  Press. 


42      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

To  him  the  title  of  Excellency  is  applied  with  peculiar 
propriety.  He  is  the  best  and  greatest  man  the  world 
ever  knew.  He  retreats  like  a  General  and  attacks  like  a 
Hero.  Had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  idolatry,  he  had  been 
worshipped  as  a  god.  One  age  cannot  do  justice  to  his 
merit;  but  a  grateful  posterity  shall,  for  a  succession  of 
ages,  remember  the  great  Deliverer  of  his  country." 

The  devotion  of  Hopkinson  to  Washington  did 
not  seem  to  be  incited  by  hope  of  reward.  It  was 
the  fervent  expression  of  his  nature,  and  is  akin  to 
many  other  tributes  by  ardent  Federalists  of  that 
age,  but  in  marked  contrast  to  the  anathemas 
heaped  upon  Washington  and  his  friends  by  politi 
cal  opponents.  Hopkinson  considered  Washington 
as  a  personal  friend  and  patron  of  the  arts  in 
which  he  delighted.  When  he  published  a  volume 
of  his  songs,  with  music,  he  dedicated  the  folio  to 
Washington,  in  terms  of  intimate  friendship.32 
After  a  reference  to  the  sympathy  between  them, 
he  said : 

With  respect  to  this  little  Work,  which  I  now  have  the 
honour  to  present  to  your  Notice,  I  can  only  say  that  it 
is  such  as  a  Lover,  not  a  Master  of  the  Arts,  can 
furnish.  I  am  neither  a  profess'd  Poet  nor  a  profess'd 
Musician;  and  yet  venture  to  appear  in  those  characters 
united;  for  which,  I  confess,  the  censure  of  Temerity  may 
justly  be  brought  against  me However  small  the 

"  Miscellaneous  Essays,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  p.   119. 

*  Seven  Songs  for  the  Harpsichord  or  Forte  Piano. 
The  Words  and  Music  composed  by  Francis  Hopkinson 
(Philadelphia,  [1788]). 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  43 

Reputation  may  be  that  I  shall  derive  from  this  Work,  I 
cannot,  I  believe,  be  refused  the  Credit  of  being  the  first 
Native  of  the  United  States  who  has  produced  a  Musical 
Composition.  If  this  attempt  should  not  be  too  severely 
treated,  others  may  be  encouraged  to  enter  on  a  path,  yet 
untrodden  in  America,  and  the  Arts  in  succession  will 
take  root  and  flourish  amongst  us. 

In  accepting  the  dedication  and  flattering  letter 
which  came  with  it,  Washington  deplored  his 
own  musical  inability,  but  said,  with  kindly 
humor : 

I  can  neither  sing  one  of  the  songs,  nor  raise  a  single 
note  on  any  instrument  to  convince  the  unbelieving.  But 
I  have,  however,  one  argument  which  will  prevail  with 
persons  of  true  taste  (at  least  in  America) — I  can  tell 
them  that  it  is  the  production  of  Mr.  Hopkinson.*3 

To  Jefferson,  or  his  daughter,  Hopkinson  sent 
a  copy  of  this  songbook,  with  special  mention  of 
the  pathos  of  the  last  number  and  the  circum 
stances  of  its  writing.  He  explained  that  the 
songs  were  composed  originally  for  his  daughters, 

who  play  and  sing  them  well.  The  last  Song,  if 
play'd  very  slow,  and  sang  with  expression,  is  for 
cibly  pathetic — at  least  in  my  Fancy.  Both  Words  and 
Music  were  the  Work  of  an  hour  in  the  Heighth  of  a 
Storm.  But  the  Imagination  of  an  Author  who  com 
poses  from  his  Heart,  rather  than  his  Head,  is  always 
more  heated  than  he  can  expect  his  Readers  to  be.8* 

33  Manuscript  letter   owned  by   Mrs.   Oliver  Hopkinson. 

34  Jefferson  Papers,  MS.  Series  II,  Vol.  XL,  No.  43.     This 
last,  "pathetic"  song  is  quoted  in  part  below. 


44      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

In  reply,  Jefferson  assured  his  friend  of  appre 
ciation,  and  pictured  his  family  of  daughters 
enjoying  the  music  upon  the  harpsichord,  while 
the  youngest  girl  was  "all  in  tears.  I  asked  her 
if  she  was  sick?  She  said,  no;  but  the  tune  was 
so  mournful." 35  Evidently  this  tribute  was 
agreeable  to  Hopkinson,  and  writers  of  his  age,  as 
a  compliment  to  their  skill  in  cultivating  senti 
mentality. 

These  seven  songs,  examined  today,  show 
limited  musical  skill,  but  they  were  popular  far 
into  the  last  century.  Such  songs  as  "With 
Jemmy  on  the  Sea"  and  the  rhythmic  "Hunting- 
Call"  are  not  yet  forgotten  by  singers  of  the  older 
generation.  The  sentimental  swain,  the  blushing 
maiden,  and  the  weeping-willow  in  the  back 
ground,  which  furnish  the  setting  for  the  songs, 
were  familiar  features  of  tales,  verses,  and  samp 
lers  of  that  period.  The  most  poetic  of  the  verses 
is  the  seventh  love-song,  suggestive  of  Henry 
Vaughan  or  Robert  Herrick  in  an  occasional 
stanza.  The  song  bore  the  title  "My  Generous 
Heart  Disdains." 

Still   uncertain  is   tomorrow, 
Not  quite  certain  is  today; 

Shall    I    waste    my   time    in    sorrow? 
Shall    I    languish    life    away? 

All   because   a   cruel   maid 

Hath  not  Love  with  Love  repaid? 
"Jefferson  Papers,  MS.  Scries  I,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  280. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  45 

In  the  political  agitation  which  preceded  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  by  Pennsylvania, 
Virginia,  and  New  York,  Hopkinson  took  a 
prominent  part  through  newspaper  articles,  urg 
ing  the  need  of  a  new  declaration  of  federation 
for  the  states.  He  was  one  of  the  most  urgent 
Federalists,  although  he  died  before  the  bitter 
contests  of  opinion  between  the  Federalists  and 
Anti-Federalists  after  the  election  of  Washing 
ton  as  president.  He  challenged  Jefferson  re 
garding  his  attitude  toward  the  Federal  party, 
as  is  indicated  by  a  letter  from  Jefferson  to  Hop 
kinson.36  In  view  of  the  later  position  of  Jeffer 
son  as  leader  of  the  Democratic-Republican 
party,  and  his  suspected  alliance  with  Freneau 
in  editing  the  most  aggressive  Anti-Federalist 
newspaper  of  the  times,37  this  letter  has  a  peculiar 
interest  to  modern  students.  Under  date  of 
Paris,  March  13,  1789,  Jefferson  wrote: 

You  say  that  I  have  been  dished  up  to  you  as  an  anti- 
federalist  and  ask  me  if  it  be  just, — my  opinion  was  never 
worthy  enough  of  notice  to  merit  citing,  but  since  you  ask 
it  I  will  give  it  you. 

I  am  not  a  Federalist,  because  I  never  submitted  the 
whole  system  of  my  opinions  to  the  creed  of  any  party  of 
men  whatever  in  religion,  in  philosophy,  in  politics,  or  in 

"Ibid.  Series  I,  Vol  III,  No.  280.  Also  Jefferson's 
Writings  (Ford)  Vol.  V,  pp.  75-78. 

87  National  Gazette,  Philadelphia,  October,  1791,  to  Octo 
ber,  1793. 


46      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

anything  else,  where  I  was  capable  of  thinking  for  myself, 
such  an  addiction  is  the  last  degredation  of  a  free  and 
moral  agent ;  if  I  could  not  go  to  heaven  but  with  a  party, 
I  would  not  go  there  at  all,  therefore  I  protest  to  you  I 
am  not  of  the  party  of  the  federalists,  but  I 
am  much  farther  from  that  of  the  Antifederalists.  I  ap 
proved,  from  the  first  moment,  of  the  great  mass  of  what 
is  in  the  new  constitution,  the  consolidation  of  the  govern 
ment,  the  organization  into  Executive,  legislative  and 

judicial the  happy  compromise  of  interests  between 

the  great  and  little  states  by  the  different  manner  of  voting 
in  the  different  houses,  the  voting  by  persons  instead  of 
states,  the  qualified  negative  of  laws  given  to  the  Executive 
which  however,  I  should  have  liked  better  if  associated 
with  the  judiciary  as  in  New  York,  and  the  power  of  taxa 
tion What  I  disapproved  from  the  first  moment 

was  the  want  of  a  bill  of  rights  to  guard  liberty  against  the 
legislative  as  well  as  executive  branches  of  the  government. 
....  I  disapproved  also  the  perpetual  reeligibility  of  the 
President. 

About  a  year  before  this  declaration  of  senti 
ments  by  Jefferson,  Hopkinson  had  written  to 
him  frankly  of  the  controversy,  especially  in 
Pennsylvania,  over  the  new  Constitution,  and  had 
referred  to  his  own  literary  services  in  the  move 
ment.  He  announced  that  Philadelphia  was  "in  a 
high  political  Fermentation  about  our  new  pro 
posed  federal  Constitution,"  and  added : 

You  will  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that  our  public 
newspapers  have  announced  General  Washington  to  be  a 
Fool  influenced  &  led  by  that  Knave  Dr.  Franklin  who  is  a 
public  Defaulter  for  Millions  of  Dollars,  that  Mr.  Morris 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  47 

has  defrauded  the  Public  out  of  as  many  Millions  as  you 
please  &  that  they  are  to  cover  their  frauds  by  this  new 

Government 

I  had  the  Luck  to  discover  &  bring  forward  into  public 
View  on  sufficient  Testimony  the  writer  of  a  Series  of 
abominable  abuse,  under  the  Signature  Philadelphiensis, 
he  is  an  Irishman  who  came  from  Dublin  about  3  years 
ago  &  got  admitted  as  Tutor  in  Arithmetic  in  our  Uni 
versity*38  I  am  now  under  the  Lash  for  this  Discovery, 
scarce  a  Day's  papers  without  my  appearance  in  the 
newspaper  in  every  scandalous  Garb  that  scribbling  Ven 
geance  can  furnish.  I  wrote  also  a  piece  stiled  The  New 
Roof  which  had  a  great  Run.  I  would  send  you  a  copy 
but  for  the  Postage.  You  will  probably  see  it  in  some  of 
the  Papers,  as  it  was  reprinted  in,  I  believe,  every  State.38 

The  New  Roof  was  another  clever  allegory, 
with  blended  prose  and  verse.  It  was  vigorous 
as  an  argument  for  the  new  Constitution  versus 
the  futile  Confederation,  with  its  defunct  powers. 
In  New  York,  Virginia,  and  Massachusetts  the 
tract  was  read  and  quoted  by  Federal  leaders, 
while  it  caught  popular  fancy  by  its  symbolic 
form.  In  behalf  of  a  new  Constitution  Hopkin- 
son  argued  thus: 

i.  That  the  whole  fabric  was  too  weak.  2.  That  there 
were  indeed  thirteen  rafters;  but  that  these  rafters  were 
not  connected  by  any  braces  or  ties,  so  as  to  form  a  union 

88  Many  articles,  thus  signed,  were  in  The  Freeman's  Jour 
nal,  Philadelphia,  during  the  fall  of  1787.  See  attack  on 
Hopkinson  as  "the  little  Fiddler"  in  The  Independent 
Gazetteer,  March  24,  1788,  Centinel,  No.  XVII. 

39  Jefferson  Papers,  MS.  series  II,  Vol.  XL,  No.  41. 


48      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

of  strength.  3.  That  some  of  these  rafters  were  too  thick 
and  heavy,  and  others  too  slight;  and  as  the  whole  had 
been  put  together  whilst  the  timber  was  yet  green,  some 
had  warped  outwards,  and  of  course  sustained  an  undue 
proportion  of  weight,  while  others,  warping  inwards,  had 
shrunk  from  bearing  any  weight  at  all.  4.  That  the  roof 
was  so  flat  as  to  admit  the  most  idle  servants  in  the  family, 
their  playmates  and  acquaintances  to  trample  upon  and 
abuse  it.40 

With  scathing  wit,  Hopkinson  portrayed  the 
leaders  of  the  opposition  to  the  "new  roof,"  as 
the  articles  of  agreement  were  generally  called. 
He  extolled  James,  the  surveyor  of  the  old  roof 
— presumably  James  Wilson,  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  had  been  chosen  "as  architect  to  look  over 
the  repairs;"  and  he  caricatured  such  opponents 
as  William  Patterson,  of  New  Jersey;  Governor 
George  Clinton,  of  New  York;  Robert  Whitehill, 
and  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania.  This  is  a 
typical  passage  of  satire: 

Now  there  was  an  old  woman,  known  by  the  name  of 
Margery,  who  had  got  a  comfortable  apartment  in  the 
mansion  house.  This  woman  was  of  an  intriguing  spirit, 
of  a  restless  and  inveterate  temper,  fond  of  tattle  and  a 

great    mischief-maker It    so    happened    that    in    the 

construction  of  the  new  roof,  her  apartment  would  be 
considerably  lessened.  No  Sooner,  therefore,  did  she 
hear  of  the  plan  proposed  by  the  architects,  but  she  put  on 

40  In  the  Pennsylvania  Packet,  December  29,  1787,  is  the 
prose  part  of  The  New  Roof,  unsigned,  but  prefaced  by  the 
words  "For  the  Packet." 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  49 

her  old  red  cloak,  and  was  day  and  night  trudging  amongst 
the  tenants  and  servants  and  crying  out  against  the  new 
roof  and  the  framers  of  it.  Amongst  these  she  had  selected 
William,  Jack  and  Robert,  three  of  the  tenants,  and  insti 
gated  them  to  oppose  the  plan  in  agitation;  she  caused 
them  to  be  sent  to  the  great  hall  on  the  day  of  debate,  and 
furnished  them  with  innumerable  alarms  and  fears,  cun 
ning  arguments,  and  specious  objections. 

The  song  which  closed  this  allegory  was 
effective  and  rhythmic : 

Up!  Up!  with  the  rafters;  each  frame  is  a  state: 

How  nobly  they  rise !  their  span,  too,  how  great ! 

From  the  north  to  the  south,  o'er  the  whole  they  extend. 

And  rest  on  the  walls  whilst  the  walls  they  defend : 

For  our  roof  we  will  raise,  and  our  song  still  shall  be, 

Combined  in  strength,  yet  as  citizens  free.41 

If  such  allegorical  methods  seem  puerile  to 
this  critical  age,  we  must  remember  that  their 
simplicity,  with  their  wit,  made  them  far  more 
effective  among  the  people  of  the  earlier  time  than 
any  more  subtle  method  would  have  been.  In  a 
letter  from  Robert  Morris  to  Hopkinson,  dated 
from  Williamsburg,  in  1788,  is  a  direct  allusion 
to  the  general  interest  awakened  by  this  argu 
ment  in  unique  form : 42 

41  The  Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Occasional  Writings  of 
Francis  Hopkinson,  Vol.  II,  pp.  282-319.  By  a  mistake,  the 
date  here  is  1778,  not  1787. 

43  From  a  manuscript  letter  owned  and  loaned  by  Mrs. 
Oliver  Hopkinson. 


50      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

I  received  your  obliging  letter  before  my  departure 
from  Richmond  and  had  much  pleasure  not  only  in  read 
ing  "The  New  Roof"  but  also  in  communicating  it  to 
others;  it  is  greatly  admired  &  I  tell  them  if  they  could 
but  enter  into  the  Dramatis  Personae  as  we  do  they  would 
find  it  still  more  excellent.  The  character  of  Margery  is 
well  hit  off,  how  does  the  old  Lady  like  it?  I  am  not 
surprised  that  they  should  baste  you  in  the  Freeman's 
Journal,  it  is  what  you  must  expect  as  long  as  they  have 
anybody  to  Wield  a  Pen.  I  observe  they  will  not  let  me 
alone,  altho  no  author.  It  is  my  fate  to  furnish  matter  for 
reproach  whether  I  meddle  or  do  not  meddle  in  Politics, 
my  successes  &  my  misfortunes,  whichever  befall  me,  are 
equally  the  themes  for  abuse.  However  let  them  indulge 
their  spleen — if  I  had  nothing  else  to  disturb  my  repose, 
I  should  sleep  much  at  ease. 

My  Wythe  yesterday  at  Dinner  introduced  the  New 
Roof  as  a  subject  and  after  expressing  his  approbation, 
very  modestly  supposed  it  to  be  one  of  your  productions. 
Mr.  G.  Morris  &  myself  joined  in  that  opinion.  Thus  you 
see  that  whether  you  intend  it  or  not,  there  always  appear 
some  characteristic  marks  in  your  writings  that  disclose 
the  Fountain  from  whence  they  spring. 

As  an  example  of  the  extravagant  tribute  paid 
to  Hopkinson  by  his  friends,  here  is  a  sentence  in 
another  letter  by  Morris,  of  later  date : 

You  are  either  a  great  Wit  or  Humorist,  you  have 
Superior  Genius  or  you  have  great  Talents  or  rather  1 
shall  come  nearer  the  Truth  by  charging  you  with  being 
the  actual  possessor  of  all  these  qualities.4* 

**  From  a  manuscript  letter  owned  by  Mrs.  Oliver  Hopkin 
son. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  51 

This  influence  of  Hopkinson  among  men  of 
affairs  was  won  in  spite  of  very  small  stature  and 
a  weak  presence.  The  familiar  description  of 
him,  given  by  John  Adams,  has  remained  as  a 
mistaken  impression  of  his  true  personality.44 
After  meeting  him  at  the  studio  of  Mr.  Peale  in 
1776,  Adams  wrote  to  his  wife : 

I  have  a  curiosity  to  penetrate  a  little  deeper  into  the 
bosom  of  this  curious  gentleman,  and  may  possibly  give 
you  some  more  particulars  concerning  him.  He  is  one  of 
your  pretty,  little,  curious,  ingenious  men.  His  head  is  not 
bigger  than  a  large  apple,  less  than  our  friend  Pemberton 
or  Dr.  Simon  Tufts.  I  have  not  met  with  anything  in 
natural  history  more  amusing  and  entertaining  than  his 
personal  appearance — yet  he  is  genteel  and  well  bred  and 
very  social. 

Mingled  with  the  delicate  traits  of  Hopkinson 
were  strength  of  mind  and  patience.45  In  circles 
of  politics,  education,  and  society  his  wit  and 
geniality  made  him  welcome.  His  touch  was 
gentle,  but  beneath  was  a  sting  of  ridicule  which 
hurt  his  enemies  more  than  the  bolder  satires  of 
his  contemporaries.  His  zeal  for  reform  showed 
itself  in  clever  essays  upon  education  and  allied 

**  Letters  of  John  Adams  Addressed  to  His  Wife  (Boston, 
1841),  Vol.  I,  pp.  156,  157. 

45  As  illustration  of  his  gentleness  was  a  popular  story  of 
a  mouse  which  came  forth  daily  to  share  his  meals,  and  a 
flock  of  tame  pigeons  which  greeted  him  (Delaplaine's  Re 
pository  of  the  Lives  and  Portraits  of  Distinguished  American 
Characters,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  138). 


52       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

themes.  Under  the  favorite  signature  of  "Cala 
mus"  he  remonstrated  against  the  scandalous 
trend  of  journalism  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and 
contended : 

Having  observed  with  real  concern,  that  our  news 
papers  have  for  a  long  time  past,  been  filled  with  private 
calumny  to  the  great  abuse  of  the  liberty  of  the  press  and 
dishonor  of  the  city, — I,  who  have  ever  been  ambitious  of 
devising  something  for  the  public  good,  set  my  wits  to 
work  to  remedy  this  growing  evil  and  to  restore  our  ga 
zettes,  advertisers,  journals  and  packets  to  their  original 
design — viz.,  to  make  them  the  vehicles  of  Intelligence 
not  the  common  sewers  of  scandal. 

Following  this  statement  was  an  outline  of  a 
proposed  plan  for  a  "High  Court  of  Honor"  to 
decide  cases  of  scandal  and  calumny.46 

On  the  occasion  of  a  petty  quarrel  between  two 
bands  of  medical  students  and  their  respective 
schools  in  Philadelphia,  Hopkinson  addressed  to 
the  classes  An  Oration,  so  full  of  ridicule  and 
good  sense  that  it  silenced  the  wranglers.47  An 
other  effective  remonstrance,  in  satire  form  was, 
Dialogues  of  the  Dead,4*  directed  against  the 
filth  and  carcasses  of  animals  which  were  allowed 

"Miscellaneous  Essays,  etc.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  151-58. 

"An  Oration  Which  Might  Have  Been  Delivered  to  the 
Students  in  Anatomy  on  the  Late  Rupture  between  the  Two 
Schools  in  this  City  (1789). 

"Miscellaneous  Essays,  Vol.  I,  pp.  327-39.  This  is 
referred  to  by  MacMaster  in  A  History  of  the  People  of  tht 
United  States  .(1883),  Vol.  I,  p.  64,  note. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  53 

to  putrify  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia.  Among 
the  tributes  to  Hopkinson's  memory  were  some 
crude  stanzas  by  John  Swanwick,  which  are  of 
interest  because  they  record  another  occasion 
when  Hopkinson  by  his  pen  gained  a  victory  for 
civic  betterment.  In  apostrophe  his  elegist  wrote  : 

Sweet  spring  advance,  and  deck  with  flow'rets  gay, 
The  tomb  where  Hopkinson's  remains  are  laid: 

Ye  Muses,  there  your  constant  vigils  pay, 
And  guard  from  ills  the  consecrated  shade. 

Ye  city  trees,  protect  your  patron's  grave; 

He  once  from  ruin  saved  your  leafy  charms, 
Then  to  his  honor  bid  your  green  tops  wave, 

And  fold  his  urn  in  your  embracing  arms.48 

The  allusion  in  these  verses  was  to  a  plea  by 
Hopkinson,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  in  1782, 
which  was  successful  in  rescinding  a  vote  of  the 
city  government,  declaring  that  all  the  city  trees 
should  be  cut  down  for  fear  of  contagion  and  fire. 
This  was  entitled  A  Speech  of  a  Standing  Mem 
ber,  the  Plea  of  Citizen  Tree.  It  was  not  alone 
witty,  but  it  also  showed  much  information  re 
garding  moisture  and  sanitation. 

When  the  grand  federal  procession  was  held 
in  Philadelphia,  in  July,  1788,  to  celebrate  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  the  confidence 
of  the  people,  Hopkinson  was  chairman  of  the 

49  The  American  Museum  (Carey),  Vol.  IX,  p.  38,  Appendix 
(1792). 


54       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

committee  of  arrangements  and  has  left  a  graphic 
account  of  the  celebration.60 

By  such  spirited  attacks  upon  abuses  of  vari 
ous  kinds,  which  retarded  true  progress,  Hopkin- 
son  often  created  a  tide  of  disfavor  against  them. 
He  was  an  earnest  student  of  the  then  known 
sciences,  and  a  fearless  critic  of  the  stale,  scholas 
tic  methods  of  teaching  them.  Like  John  Trum- 
bull  in  Progress  of  Dulness,  he  burlesqued  the 
formal,  lifeless  recitations,  in  a  satirical  essay, 
Modern  Learning  Exemplified  by  a  Specimen  of 
a  Collegiate  Examination*1  He  ridiculed  the 
stilted  modes  of  teaching  metaphysics,  logic, 
natural  philosophy,  mathematics,  anatomy,  and 
"the  Practice  of  Physic  and  Chemistry."  A 
brief  portion  from  this  burlesque  on  examinations 
of  his  day  is  the  following: 

Professor.  "What  is  the  salt  called  with  respect  to  the 
box?" 

Student.    "It  is  called  its  Contents." 

Professor.     "And  Why  so?" 

Student.  "Because  the  cook  is  content,  quoad  hoc,  to 
find  plenty  of  salt  in  the  box." 

Professor.  "You  are  quite  right.  Let  us  now  proceed 
to  Logic.  How  many  parts  are  there  in  a  salt-box?" 

10  The  account  of  this  celebration  is  in  Miscellaneous 
Essays,  etc.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  340-422.  The  gold  anchor  worn  by 
Hopkinson  in  his  hat  is  in  the  collection  of  federal  relics  in 
Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia. 

"American  Museum,  February,    1787,   pp.   142-47. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  55 

Student.     "Three, — bottom,  top,  and  sides." 
Professor.      "How    many   modes   are   there   in    a   salt- 
box?" 

Student.  "Four, — the  formal,  the  substantial,  the  acci 
dental  and  the  topsy  turvy."62 

Hopkinson  had  many  schemes  for  improving 
the  teaching  of  sciences.  Not  a  few  of  his 
ideas  seem  only  predictions  of  the  experimental 
modes  of  today,  the  natural  and  practical  way  of 
teaching  science.  He  had  a  well-trained  mind, 
and  his  odd  conceits  showed  a  marked  degree  of 
ingenuity.  When  the  British  troops  devastated 
Bordentown,  Hopkinson's  house  was  saved  by  an 
incident  which  attests  his  scholarship.  The 
torch  had  been  applied  to  the  outside  of  the  house, 
when  the  captain  of  the  Hessians,  Ewald,  seeking 
for  plunder  probably,  entered  the  library  and  was 
amazed  at  the  books,  the  scientific  apparatus,  and 
the  mechanical  designs.  As  he  had  an  interest  in 
science,  he  respected  such  evidences  of  scholar 
ship  and  gave  command  that  the  flames  should  be 
extinguished.  Within  a  volume  of  Provost 
Smith's  Discourses  he  wrote,  beneath  his  own 
seal,  "This  man  was  one  of  the  greatest  rebels, 
nevertheless,  if  we  dare  to  conclude  from  the 
Library  and  Mechanical  and  Mathematical  in 
struments,  he  must  have  been  a  very  learned 
man."53 

^Miscellaneous  Essays,  etc.,  Vol.   I,   p.   344. 
53  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  Vol. 
II,  p.  320. 


56       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Not  all  of  Hopkinson's  literary  skits  and 
essays  were  so  purposeful  and  serious  as  those 
that  have  been  cited.  He  turned  his  wit  into  a 
merry  channel  when  he  wrote  the  droll  impres 
sions,  in  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Phila 
delphia  to  his  friend  in  Europe,  On  Annual 
White-Washings.  This  custom  of  the  past  days 
was  cleverly  described  and  parodied,  as  a  part  of 
the  marriage  contract,  giving  to  the  young  wife 
"the  free  and  unmolested  exercise  of  the  rights 
of  white-washing,  with  all  its  ceremonials,  privi 
leges  and  appurtenances."  In  the  same  essay 
Hopkinson  commemorated,  with  mingled  respect 
and  humor,  another  and  more  lasting  custom  of 
his  native  city  : 

There  is  also  another  custom  peculiar  to  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  and  nearly  allied  to  the  former.  I  mean  that 
of  washing  the  pavement  before  the  doors  every  Saturday 
evening.  I  at  first  took  this  to  be  a  regulation  of  the 
police,  but,  on  further  enquiry,  find  it  is  a  religious  rite 
preparatory  to  the  Sabbath  and  is,  I  believe,  the  only 
religious  rite  in  which  the  numerous  sectaries  of  this  city 
perfectly  agree.64 

Francis  Hopkinson  died  of  apoplexy,  in  May, 
1791,  and  was  buried  in  Christ  Churchyard, 
although  the  tomb  cannot  now  be  identified.55 

"American  Museum,  January,  1787,  pp.  48-53  ;  Miscellane 
ous  Essays,  etc.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  146-60. 

"His  burial  record,  May  n,  1791,  may  be  found  in  the 
manuscript  list  of  burials  of  Christ  Churchyard,  to  be  found 
in  the  Library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  57 

Both  Bordentown  and  Philadelphia  contain 
memorials  of  him.  Much  of  his  later  life  was 
passed  in  the  latter  city.  The  Hopkinson  man 
sion  still  stands  in  Bordentown,  slightly  changed 
in  appearance  from  his  day.  It  is  linked  in 
memory  with  his  son,  Joseph,  as  well  as  with  the 
elder  man.  Here  Francis  Hopkinson  delighted 
to  return  for  rest  and  devotion  to  the  arts.  He 
played  the  spinet  with  such  grace  that  Borden 
town  residents  would  congregate  before  his  win 
dows  to  listen.  Here  he  painted  many  of  his 
sketches  and  portraits.  One  of  the  latter  was 
honored  with  a  misplaced  tribute,  calling  it  the 
work  of  Copley.  Joseph  Hopkinson  inherited 
his  father's  love  for  verse  as  well  as  his  legal 
skill,  and  entertained  distinguished  guests,  among 
them  Joseph  Bonaparte  and  Thomas  Moore.  The 
only  notable  contribution  in  verse  by  Joseph  Hop 
kinson  which  has  survived  is  the  ode,  "Hail 
Columbia !  Happy  Land !" 

The  death  of  Hopkinson  followed,  within  a 
few  months,  the  decease  of  Franklin.  This  cir 
cumstance,  and  the  friendship  between  the  two 
men,  gave  eulogists  an  opportunity  for  extrava 
gant  tribute  to  both.  In  the  Columbian  Magazine, 
May,  1791,  appeared  a  prose  obituary  of  Hop 
kinson  and  two  elegies.  One  contained  the 
refrain:  "Another  sage  expired!"  The  versifier 


58      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

extolled  both  the  gentleness  and  courage  of  Hop- 

kinson : 

The  steady  foe  of  tyranny  confess'd, 

Yet  with  such  art  and  gentleness  reproved, 

That  though  some  feared  his  pen,  the  man  was  loved. 

And  be  this  line  upon  his  tombstone  writ — 

The  friend  of  virtue  and  the  friend  of  wit. 

In  the  prose  estimate  of  Hopkinson's  qualities 
the  writer  was  more  restrained  and  forceful. 
With  truth,  he  declared : 

He  thought  much  and  thought  justly  upon  the  subject 
of  education.  He  often  ridiculed,  in  conversation,  the  prac 
tice  of  teaching  children  the  English  language  by  means 
of  grammar.  Sometimes  he  employed  his  formidable 
powers  of  humor  and  satire  in  exposing  the  formalities  of 
technical  science.  He  was  an  active  and  useful  member 
of  three  great  political  parties  which,  at  different  times, 
divided  his  native  state — he  was  a  Whig,  a  republican  and 
a  federalist  and  he  lived  to  see  the  principles  and  wishes 
of  each  of  those  parties  finally  and  universally  successful. 
It  only  remains  to  add  to  this  account  of  Mr.  Hopkinson 
that  the  various  causes  which  contributed  to  the  establish 
ment  of  the  independent  and  federal  government  of  the 
United  States  will  not  be  fully  traced  unless  much  is 
ascribed  to  the  irresistible  influence  of  the  ridicule  which 
he  poured  forth  from  time  to  time  upon  the  enemies  of 
those  great  political  events. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU:   AMERICA'S  FIRST 
POET 


I'liii.ii1  IRI  \i M 

From  a  sketch,   mack-  in  his  later  years  and   finished  after  his 
death;   re|.n>du<ed   from   1*05  edition  of  his  Poems. 


Ill 

PHILIP  FRENEAU:   AMERICA'S  FIRST 
POET 

Among  casual  readers  the  name  of  Philip 
Freneau  is  more  familiar  than  that  of  other  writ 
ers  of  his  time,  but  we  need  more  information 
about  the  details  of  his  life  and  work.  Recent 
indications  may  be  found  of  an  awakening  inter 
est  in  this  early  poet;  his  poems  have  been 
republished  in  two  large  volumes,  a  full  bibli 
ography  of  his  writings  has  been  issued,1  and 
bibliophiles  are  rivaling  each  other  in  zeal  to 
acquire  first  editions  of  his  works. 

Freneau  was  an  ardent  patriot;  he  was  even  a 
bitter  partisan.  During  the  war  his  satires  in 
verse  dismayed  English  generals  and  Loyalist 
sympathizers;  during  the  years  of  controversy 
over  the  best  form  of  government  he  wrote  scath 
ing  tracts  and  editorials  against  the  Federalists 
and  their  marked  leaders.  In  this  primal  atten 
tion  to  his  service  as  satirist  and  political  penman, 
too  little  study  has  been  made  of  the  frag- 

1  The  Poems  of  Philip  Freneau,  edited  by  Fred  L.  Patee 
(Princeton,  New  Jersey,  1902-7;  3  vols.)  ;  Bibliography  of 
the  Works  of  Philip  Freneau,  compiled  by  Victor  Hugo 
Paltsits  (New  York,  1903). 

61 


62       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

mentary,  but  significant,  outbursts  of  lyrical 
poetry  which  were  interspersed  among  his 
polemics  and  lampoons.  Although  the  most 
spontaneous  impulses  of  the  lyric  poet  are  found 
in  his  earlier  stanzas,  yet  the  martial  sentiments 
did  not  wholly  submerge  the  poetic  yearnings  in 
his  later  years.  To  Freneau,  Mr.  Stedman  has 
traced  "the  first  essential  poetic  spirit"  2  in  Amer 
ica;  he  has  included  several  of  these  poems  in  his 
anthology.3 

As  youth  and  man,  Freneau  was  haunted  by 
vague,  restless  desires  to  serve  his  country,  and 
at  the  same  time  win  fame  for  himself  by  his 
pen.  His  fancy  and  aspirations  were  early 
awakened,  but,  after  a  few  ventures  in  poetry  of 
the  accepted  mode,  he  realized  that  fate  had 
placed  him  in  conditions  which  called  for  other 
forms  of  literary  service.  There  is  bitterness  of 
disappointment,  but  there  is  also  determination 
to  serve  the  hour,  in  his  poem  "The  Author" : 

An  age  employ'd  in  pointing  steel, 

Can  no  poetic  raptures  feel; 


The  Muse  of  Love  in  no  request, 
I'll  try  my  fortune  with  the  rest. 
Which  of  the  Nine  shall  I  engage, 

*  Edmund   Clarence   Stedman,  Poets  of  America   (Boston, 
1896),  p.  35- 

*  Stedman  and  Hutchinson,  A  Library  of  American  Litera 
ture  (1897),  Vol.  I. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  63 

To  suit  the  humor  of  the  age? 
On  one,  alas !  my  choice  must  fall, 
The  least  engaging  of  them  all! 
Her  visage  stern,  severe  her  style, 
A  clouded  brow,  a  cruel  smile, 
A  mind  on  murder'd  victims  plac'd. 
She,  only  she,  can  please  the  taste.4 

It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  the  dual  traits  of  the 
poet  and  the  patriot  in  the  inheritance  of  Freneau. 
A  sensitive,  romantic  strain  of  ancestry  was 
mingled  with  the  sturdy  Huguenot  traits  of  thrift 
and  courage.  The  grandfather,  Andre  Fres- 
neau,  came  to  Boston  in  1705.  After  a  brief  stay 
there,  he  spent  a  few  months  in  Connecticut,  and 
finally  reached  New  York,  where  he  secured  a 
position  with  the  Royal  West  India  Company. 
Here  he  became  associated  with  other  men  of 
Huguenot  ancestry,  who  clustered  their  homes  in 
the  vicinity  of  Pine  Street  and  the  old  Church  of 
St.  Esprit. 

He  married  the  granddaughter  of  John  Morin 
Scott,  thus  introducing  more  noble  blood  into 
the  family.  Andre  died  in  1725.  His  second 
son,  Pierre,  was  the  father  of  the  poet.  By 
native  talents  and  marriage  ties  the  family  had 
gained  social  rank  in  those  days  of  old  New 
York  when  the  homes  of  the  elite  were  in  lower 

*Poems  Written  between  the  Years  1768  &  1794,  by 
Philip  Freneau  of  New  Jersey:  A  New  Edition,  Revised  and 
Corrected  by  the  Author  (Monmouth,  N.  J.,  1795),  p.  327. 


64       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Broadway  and  Bowling  Green.  A  house,  long 
standing  in  Frankfort  Street,  was  the  birthplace 
of  Philip  Freneau  in  January,  1752.  The  year 
of  his  birth  his  father  bought  a  thousand  acres  of 
land  in  Monmouth  County,  New  Jersey,  build 
ing  there  a  large  mansion,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  "Mont  Pleasant,"  in  memory  of  the  fine 
estate  of  that  name  once  owned  by  the  family  in 
France. 

According  to  the  usual  narrative,  the  Freneau 
home  was  transferred  from  New  York  to  Mon 
mouth.  Mr.  Pattee  thinks  that  Philip  was  left  at 
school,  in  New  York,  when  the  family  moved 
away.5  In  either  case,  he  found  the  first  poetic 
incentive  of  his  boyhood  amid  the  New  Jersey 
hills,  which  he  so  often  extolled  in  verse.  His 
mother,  Agnes  Watson  Freneau,  encouraged  all 
the  dreamy  love  for  nature  and  books  which  the 
boy  revealed.  She  was  a  woman  with  a  beautiful 
face  and  a  fine  mind.  Her  portrait,  as  a  girl  of 
sixteen,  was  long  a  treasured  heirloom,  made 
doubly  romantic  by  the  saber  thrust  through  the 
heart,  which  was  a  reminder  of  vandal  British 
soldiers.  Surviving  her  first  husband  by  half  a 
century,  she  married  James  Kearny.  To  the 
end  of  her  ninety  years  she  was  a  fascinating 
companion. 

'"Introduction"  to  The  Poems  of  Philip  Freneau  (1902-7), 
Vol.  I,  p.  xv. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  65 

After  a  struggle  with  classic  textbooks  at  the 
Latin  school  at  Penelopen,  Philip  Freneau  was 
placed  under  the  tutorship  of  Rev.  William  Ten- 
nent,  of  Monmouth,  and  entered  Nassau  Hall, 
Princeton.  Probably  his  roommate  was  James 
Madison.  The  latter  was  an  intimate  life-long 
friend  of  the  poet,  and  was  much  enamored  of 
Freneau's  sister,  Mary,  when  he  visited  at  Mont 
Pleasant.  Philip's  brother,  Pierre,  generally 
called  Peter,  was  for  many  years  identified  with 
the  political  movements  in  South  Carolina,  and 
was  an  adviser  of  Jefferson  and  his  party.  He 
inherited  much  of  the  ancestral  thrift  and  in 
dustry.  At  college,  Philip  was  a  classmate  of 
James  Madison,  Aaron  Burr,  Aaron  Ogden,  and 
Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge.  As  a  mere  boy  he 
wrote  verses.  Unfortunately,  some  of  his  juve 
nile  and  bombastic  efforts,  like  "The  Poetical 
History  of  the  Prophet  Jonah,"  written  at  the 
age  of  fourteen,  have  been  preserved  in  later 
editions  of  his  poetry.  In  collaboration  with 
Brackenridge  he  wrote  the  commencement  poem 
at  his  graduation  in  1772 — "The  Rising  Glory 
of  America."  6  For  some  reason  not  explained, 
both  Freneau  and  Madison  were  absent,  or 
excused  from  taking  part  in  the  commencement 

6  This  was  published  in  pamphlet  form,  A  Poem  on  the 
Rising  Glory  of  America,  etc.  (Philadelphia,  1772).  It  is  in 
his  Poems  (edition  of  1795),  pp.  36-46. 


66       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

programme,  as  is  shown  in  a  paragraph  of  record 
in  the  History  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey:1 

An  English  forensic  dispute  on  the  question,  "Does 
ancient  Poetry  excel  the  Modern?"  Mr.  Freneau,  the 
Respondent,  being  necessarily  absent,  his  arguments,  in 
favor  of  the  Ancients,  were  read Mr.  James  Madi 
son  was  excused  from  taking  any  part  in  the  exercises. 

In  the  same  note  upon  this  programme  we 
read,  "A  Poem  on  The  Rising  Glory  of  America' 
by  Mr.  Brackenridge,  was  received  with  great 
applause  by  the  audience."  Possibly  this  state 
ment  has  led  to  the  uncertainty  regarding  the  real 
authorship  of  this  initial,  boyish  poem  which  was 
afterward  included  in  Freneau's  writings.  The 
answer  seems  to  be  conclusive,  as  given  by  a 
friend  of  Brackenridge : 

Although  he  courted  the  Muses,  and  in  conjunction 
with  the  poet  Freneau,  his  classmate,  composed  a  poem 
on  "The  Rising  Glory  of  America,"  he  confessed  that  on 
his  part  it  was  a  task  of  labor,  while  the  verse  of  his  asso 
ciate  flowed  spontaneously." 

A  few  lines  from  this  poem  indicate  both  the 
aspiration  and  the  zeal  of  its  youthful  authors; 
they  seem  also  to  prophesy  the  part  that  Freneau 
later  was  to  play  in  commerce,  as  well  as  poetry : 

7  John  MacLean,  History  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey: 
From  Its  Origin  in  1746  to  the  Commencement  of  1854 
(Philadelphia,  1877),  Vol.  I,  p.  312,  note. 

*  Southern  Literary  Messenger,  Vol.  VIII,  No.  i,  p.  2. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  67 

Great  is  the  praise  of  commerce,  and  the  men 
Deserve  our  praise  who  spread  from  shore  to  shore 
The  flowing  sail ;  great  are  their  dangers  too ; 
Death  ever  present  to  the  fearless  eye 
And  ev'ry  billow  but  a  gaping  grave ; 
Yet  all  these  mighty  feats  to  Science  are 
Their  rise  and  glory.9 

A  curious  quarto  manuscript  may  be  found  in 
the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  entitled  "Father  Bumbo's  Pilgrimage  to 
Mecca  in  Arabia,  Vol.  II.,  written  by  H.  B.  and 
P.  F.,  1770."  The  easy  translation  of  these  let 
ters  indicates  that  the  two  friends  had  collaborated 
in  poetry  before  they  wrote  the  commencement 
poem.  These  earlier  verses  relate  many  adven 
tures,  and  contain  a  few  doggerel  rhymes  on 
political  affairs.10  Occasionally  there  is  a  stanza 
of  true  appreciation  of  nature,  although  ex 
pressed  in  stilted  phrase — as  this: 

Sweet  are  the  flowers  that  crown  the  Vale, 
And  sweet  the  spicy  breathing  Gale, 

That  murmurs  o'er  the  hills, 
The  hour  the  distant  lowing  throng 
Thro'  verdant  pastures  move  along, 

To  drink  from  limpid  Streams  and  crystal  Rills. 

9  A    Poem    on    the   Rising    Glory    of   America ;    Being    an 
Exercise  Delivered   at   the  Public  Commencement  at  Nassau 
Hall,  September  25,  1772,  p.  18. 

10  Bound  in  the  manuscript  with  this  poem  is  a  collection 
of  tirades,  probably  written  by  Freneau  and  his  college  friends 
to  ridicule  a  rival  society  of  Tories. 


68       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Freneau  taught  school,  for  a  brief  period,  after 
he  left  college.  His  first  experience  was  in  Flat- 
bush,  Long  Island,  but  later  he  joined  Bracken- 
ridge  in  Maryland,  at  Princess  Anne  Academy. 
The  two  friends  made  fitful  attempts  at  the  study 
of  theology;  then  abandoned  this  for  law,  which 
became  the  life-profession  of  Brackenridge. 
Freneau's  career  as  pedagogue  outlasted  his  time 
spent  in  reading  for  the  ministry  and  the  bar,  but 
he  disliked  the  experience  as  teacher.  His  dis 
heartening  impressions  were  given  in  letters,  and 
also  in  a  droll  poem,  "The  Miserable  Life  of  a 
Pedagogue."  To  Madison  he  wrote  of  his  forced 
acceptance  of  a  school  at  Flatbush,  and  his  dis 
gust  : 

I  did  enter  upon  the  business  of  it  certain  and  con 
tinued  in  it  thirteen  days — but — Long  Island  I  have  bid 
adieu,  With  all  its  brainless,  brutish  crew.  The  youth  of 
that  detested  place,  Are  void  of  reason  and  of  grace.  From 
Flushing  hills  to  Flatbush  plains,  Deep  ignorance  unri- 
vall'd  reigns.  I'm  very  poetical  but  excuse  it." 

With  more  of  humor,  tinctured  still  by  im 
patience,  he  wrote  his  impressions  in  verse-form 
for  publication : 

A  plague  I  say  on  such  employment, 
Where's  neither  pleasure  nor  enjoyment; 
Whoe'er  to  such  life  is  ty'd, 
Was  born  the  day  he  should  have  dy'd ; 

"Madison  Papers,  Letters  to  Madison,  November  2, 
1772  (Library  of  Congress),  Vol.  XIII,  p.  9. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  69 

Born   in   an   hour    when    angry    spheres 
Were  tearing  caps  or  pulling  ears. 
And  Saturn  slow  'gainst  swift  Mercurius 
Was   meditating  battles    furious; 
Or  comets  with  their  blazing   train, 
Decreed  their  life,  a  life  of  pain.12 

During  these  eajly  years  Freneau  did  other 
work  more  worthy  than  the  poetical  efforts 
quoted;  the  latter  are  of  interest  only  in  tracing 
the  story  of  his  life,  with  its  varied  experiences. 
Some  of  his  verses,  written  before  the  war,  por 
tray  the  customs  of  his  age.  When  the  war  was 
imminent,  he  began  his  work  as  satirist,  probably 
writing  a  parody  on  "Gen.  Gage's  Proclamation," 
which  was  widely  circulated  in  the  press  and  also 
published  as  a  broadside,  in  June,  I775-13  In  the 
aggregate  he  wrote  more  than  sixty  satires,  odes, 
and  elegies  on  the  war.  One  of  the  best  lam 
poons  of  the  time  was  'The  Midnight  Consulta 
tions,"  first  issued  as  "A  Voyage  to  Boston." 

12  This    poem    was    included    in    a    collection,    printed    as 
The    American    Village;    A    Poem.      To    Which    are    Added 
Several  other  Original  Pieces  in   Verse.     By  Philip  Freneau, 
A.B.   (New   York,   1772).     Copies  of  this  are   in  the   Library 
of  Congress  and  the  John  Carter  Brown  Library.     From  the 
latter  copy  a  reprint  has  been  made   (1906),  published  by  the 
Club  for  Colonial  Reprints  of  Providence. 

13  This  is  so  suggested  by  Mr.  Paltsits,  in  his  Bibliography, 
p.  27.    In  The  Origin  of  McFingal,  by  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  it 
is   mentioned   as   possibly   by  John   Trumbull  ;   but   this   seems 
unlikely  from  the  internal  and  collateral  evidence.     See   fur 
ther  explanation  on  p.   129. 


^ax^-t-^ 
70       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  scene  was  laid  in  the  quarters  of  General 

Gage,  the  night  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Both  Lord  Percy  and  General  Gage  were  ridiculed 

thus: 

Lord  Percy  seem'd  to  snore — O  conscious  Muse, 
This  ill-timed  snoring  to  the  Peer  excuse, 
Tir'd  was  the  Hero  of  his  toilsome  day, 
Full  fifteen  miles  he  fled, — a  tedious  way — 
How  should  he  then  the  dews  of  Somnus  shun, 
Perhaps  not  us'd  to  walk,  much  less  to  run. 

The  moan  of  Gage  was  a  familiar  stanza  of  cari 
cature  : 

Three  weeks — ye  gods!  nay,  three  long  years  it  seems, 
Since  roast  beef  I  have  touched  except  in  dreams. 
In  sleep,  choice  dishes  to   my  view   repair, — 
Waking,  I  gape  and  clamp  the  empty  air. 
Say,  is  it  just  that  I,  who  rule  these  bands, 
Should  live  on  husks,  like  rakes  in  foreign  lands." 

Uneven  in  workmanship,  with  less  natural  wit 
than  Hopkinson  and  Trumbull  had,  Freneau  was 
yet  the  acknowledged  satirist  of  the  war,  who 
accomplished  the  greatest  results  in  annoying 
the  British  and  Loyalists  and  in  cheering  the 
patriot  leaders.  He  was  ever  ready  to  extol  the 
bravery  of  the  latter,  as  in  his  alleged  words  of 
Gage,  after  he  realized  the  valor  of  the  minute- 
men: 

14  "A  Voyage  to  Boston"  (Philadelphia,  1775).  The 
quotations  given  are  in  the  original  form,  pp.  10  and  15.  The 
whole  poem  is  in  Poems  Written  bct-iTcn  the  Years  1768  & 
'794  (i795).  PP.  115-21. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  71 

When  men  like  these  defy  my  martial  rule, 
Good  heaven !  it  is  no  time  to  play  the  fool. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  conflict  Freneau 
was  eager  to  serve  his  country  in  military  hazards, 
as  well  as  by  writing.  He  probably  entered  the 
army  as  a  private  in  1778;  possibly  he  was  raised 
to  the  rank  of  sergeant,  as  is  reported  in  Jersey- 
men  in  the  Revolution.1**  In  his  obituary  in  the 
New  York  Spectator  there  is  also  reference  to  his 
brief  service  under  arms.16  Whether  these  state 
ments  are  fallacious  or  true — and  opinions  differ 
— he  did  not  serve  long  as  a  soldier.  His  sensi 
tive,  restless  nature  fretted  against  the  delays  and 
reactions  which  preceded  and  followed  the  procla 
mation  of  independence.  While  waiting  for  the 
issue  to  come,  he  carried  out  a  long-cherished 
plan  and  made  a  voyage  to  the  West  Indies. 
Combining  trade  with  pleasure,  he  delighted  in 
the  sunny  skies  and  floral  beauties  of  Jamaica  and 
Santa  Cruz.  The  impressions  on  his  memory 
and  poetic  imagination  were  expressed  in  such 
melodic  stanzas  as  this : 

Amid  the  shades  of  yonder  whispering  grove, 

The  green  palmetoes   mingle,   tall  and   fair, 
That  ever  murmur,  and  forever  move, 
Fanning  with  wavy  bough  the  ambient  air." 

15  Jerseymen  in  the  Revolution,  p.  465.  No  further  infor 
mation  is  given. 

18  New  York  Spectator,  December  31,   1832. 

17  "Beauties  of  Santa  Cruz,"  Poems,  etc.  (1795),  p.   134. 


72       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

It  was  under  the  same  influences,  environed  by 
the  dreamy  atmosphere,  that  he  conceived  and 
wrote  the  first  version  of  "The  House  of 
Night/'18  This  is  a  strange,  weird  vision,  some 
what  suggestive  of  Coleridge  and  Poe.  In  some 
passages  the  uneven  meters  and  the  excess  of 
moralizing  spoil  the  poetic  beauty,  but  there  are 
bits  of  fine  and  haunting  melody,  not  unlike  that 
of  "Ulalumc."  Such  is  the  picture  of  "the  death 
of  Death"  at  the  hour  of  midnight : 

Sweet   vernal   May— tho'   then  thy  woods   in  bloom 
Flourish'd,  yet  nought  of  this  could  Fancy  see; 

No  wild  pinks  bless'd  the  meads,  no  green  the  fields, 
And  naked  seemed  to  stand  each  lifeless  tree. 

Dark  was  the  sky,  and  not  one  friendly  star 
Shone  from  the  zenith,  or  horizon  clear; 

Mist  sate  upon  the  plains,  and  darkness  rode 
In  her  dark  chariot,  with  her  ebon  spear. 

And  from  the  wilds,  the  late  resounding  note 

Issued,  of  the  loquacious  whippoorwill ; 
Hoarse,  howling  dogs,  and  nightly-roving  wolves 

Clamour'd,  from  far-off  cliffs  invisible." 

"This  poem  was  printed  in  the  United  States  Maga 
zine,  edited  by  Brackenridge,  in  August,  1779,  pp.  35S~<53- 
It  has  the  subtitle  "Six  Hours  Lodging  with  Death."  In  the 
same  magazine  appeared,  that  year,  other  poems  by  Freneau, 
including  "The  Dying  Elm,"  "King  George  the  Third's 
Soliloquy,"  and  "King  George's  Speech  to  Lord  North." 

w  Poems,  etc.  (1795),  p.  93.  This  poem  was  in  the  first 
edition,  1786,  pp.  101-23,  as  "The  Vision  of  Night." 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  73 

Certain  love-sonnets,  written  during  this  voy 
age  to  southern  seas,  extolled  a  "Fair  Amanda/' 
to  whom  the  poet  paid  homage.  Miss  Austin  sur 
mises  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Freneau's  host 
in  the  Bermudas.20  Such  minor  experiences, 
however,  were  dimmed  in  remembrance  by  his 
exciting  adventure  in  1780,  as  he  was  starting 
on  another  voyage  for  the  Indies.  His  ship, 
"Aurora,"  sailing  out  from  Delaware  Bay,  was 
pursued  and  captured  by  the  British  ship  "The 
Iris."  The  account  of  this  capture,  and  the  sub 
sequent  horrors  on  the  prison-ship  to  which  he 
was  transferred,  afforded  theme  for  one  of  his 
most  biting  satires,  "The  British  Prison-Ship."21 

After  this  dramatic  experience,  Freneau,  weak 
ened  by  fever  and  exposure,  returned  to  Mon- 
mouth,  where  he  wrote  a  group  of  deadly  satires, 
incited  by  personal  anger  against  King  George, 
Lord  Cornwallis,  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  the 
Loyalist  printers,  Gaine  and  Rivington.  Among 
the  many  political  verses  that  he  wrote,  between 
1780  and  1783,  three  were  widely  quoted,  and 

20  Mary  S.  Austin,  Philip  Freneau :     The  Poet  of  the  Revo, 
lution,  edited  by  Helen  Kearny  Vreeland   (New  York,    1901), 
p.   88. 

21  From  an  unpublished  manuscript  in  prose,  said  to  have 
been  written  a  few  days  after  the  release,  there  was  printed, 
in   1899,   Some  Account  of  the   Capture   of   the  Ship  Aurora 
.(New  York). 


74       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

represent  his  versatility  in  form:  "The  Last 
Will  and  Testament  of  James  Rivington, 
Printer,"22  "The  Prophecy,"  and  the  elegy,  'To 
the  Memory  of  the  Brave  Americans  under  Gen 
eral  Greene,  who  fell  in  the  action  of  September 
8,  1781."  The  last  poem  is  better  known  to 
modern  readers  by  its  later  title,  "The  Battle  of 
Eutaw  Springs." 

"The    Prophecy,"    characterized   by   bravado 
and  personal  thrusts,  caught  the  popular  fancy : 

When  a  certain  great  king  whose  initial  is  G, 

Shall  force  stamps  upon  paper  and  folks  to  drink  tea; 

When  these   folks  burn  his  tea  and  stamped  paper,  like 

stubble, 

You  may  guess  that  this  king  is  then  coming  to  trouble. 
But  when  a  petition  he  treads  under  his  feet, 
And  sends  over  the  ocean  an  army  and  fleet; 
When  that  army,  half  starved  and  frantic  with  rage, 
Shall  be  cooped  up   with   a   leader   whose   name   rhymes 

to  cage; 

When  that  leader  goes  home,  dejected  and  sad, 
You  may  then  be  assured  the  king's  prospects  are  bad. 
But  when   B.  and  C.  with   their   armies  are  taken, 
The  king  will  do  well  if  he  saves  his  own  bacon. 
In  the  year  Seventeen  hundred  and  eighty  and  two, 
A  stroke  he  shall  get  that  will  make  him  look  blue ; 
In    the   years    eighty-three,    eighty-four,    eighty-five, 
You  hardly  shall  know  that  the  king  is  alive; 
In  the  year  eighty-six  the  affair  will  be  over, 

"Poems,  etc.  (i?95),  "The  British  Prison  Ship,"  p.  161-75: 
"James  Rivington's  Last  Will  and   Testament,"  p.  204. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  75 

And  he  shall  eat  turnips  that  grow  in  Hanover. 
The  face  of  the  Lion  shall  then  become  pale, 
He  shall  yield  fifteen  teeth  and  be  sherr'd  of  his  tail, 
O  king,  my  dear  king,  you  shall  be  very  sore. 
The  Stars  and  the  Lily  shall  run  you  on  shore, 
And  your  Lion  shall  growl  but  never  bite,  more.23 

As  an  evidence  of  the  versatility  of  Freneau, 
and  his  skill  in  other  forms  of  verse  than  the 
satire  and  lampoon,  we  recall  the  elegy  on  the 
soldiers  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs. 
One  stanza  has  gracious  truth  and  deep  feeling: 

Stranger,  their  humble  graves  adorn; 

You  too  may  fall  and  ask  a  tear : 
'Tis  not  the  beauty  of  the  morn 

That  proves  the  evening  shall  be  clear. 

This  was  the  poem  which  won  praise  from  Walter 
Scott  "as  fine  a  thing  of  the  kind  as  there  is  in  the 
language."24  Critics  would  charge  Scott  with 
plagiarism  because,  admitting  his  knowledge  of 
Freneau's  poem,  he  repeated  a  line  almost  ver 
batim,  in  Marmion:  "They  took  the  spear,  but 
left  the  shield."  More  probably  this  was  a  case 
of  coincidence  or  literary  suggestion. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Freneau  was  a  young 
man  under  thirty,  with  a  reputation  for  mental 
alertness  and  wit,  but  without  any  definite  pro- 

23  Poems  of  Philip  Freneau  Written  Chiefly  during  the 
Late  War  (Philadelphia,  1786),  p.  178,  Poems  (1795),  p.  178. 

94  Duyckinck,  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Literature,  Vol.  I, 
P-  335- 


76       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

gramme  of  life  or  any  fixed  income.  For  the 
next  six  years  he  made  frequent  trips  as  mer 
chant,  and  became  known  as  "Captain  Freneau." 
Meanwhile  he  wrote  verses  of  nature-love  and 
domestic  customs,  sending  these  often  to  the 
Freeman's  Journal  and  the  Pennsylvania  Packet, 
both  published  in  Philadelphia.  From  these 
papers  the  poems  were  reprinted,  without  name, 
in  many  other  journals  throughout  the  country. 
During  the  year  1787  alone  he  gave  to  the 
journals  mentioned,  without  signature,  such 
poems  as  "The  Almanack-Maker,"  "The  Deserted 
Farm-House"  (which  was  also  printed  in  the 
London  Morning  Herald,  July  12,  1787),  "The 
Hermit,"  "The  Indian  Student,"  and  the  dainty 
poem,  "May  to  April,"  which  ranks  beside  his 
more  familiar  "The  Wild  Honeysuckle,"26  and 
contains  this  stanza : 

Without  your  showers  I  breed  no  flowers, 
Each  field  a  barren  waste  appears, 

If  you  don't  weep,  my  blossoms  sleep, 
They  take  such  pleasure  in  your  tears." 

*  Freeman's  Journal  or  North  American  Intelligencer 
(published  by  Francis  Bailey)  ;  Pennsylvania  Packet  and 
Daily  Advertiser;  Freneau's  poems  in  the  issues  for  Feb 
ruary  14,  April  2,  April  18,  (Packet),  May  24,  (Packet), 
June  9  (Packet),  June  20,  November  14,  etc.  In  these  papers 
appeared  also  an  advertisement  of  the  first  collection  of 
Freneau's  poems,  in  1786  (published  by  Bailey). 

*Cf.  Poems   (1795),  p.   96. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  77 

Freneau  had  special  reasons  for  wishing  to  end 
his  roving  life  and  gain  a  stable  income;  for  he 
married,  in  1790,  Eleanor  Forman,  a  fine  woman 
belonging  to  a  well-known  New  Jersey  family. 
She  had  a  taste  for  versifying,  and  the  lovers 
corresponded  "in  lyric  measures"  for  more  than 
a  year  before  marriage,  under  the  names  of 
"Ella"  and  "Birtha."27  As  he  lacked  training 
for  any  other  profession,  Freneau  decided  to  try 
to  find  a  place  as  editor,  after  his  return  to  New 
York  in  1789,  from  a  trip  to  Charleston  as  mer 
chant.28  For  several  months  he  was  associated, 
perhaps  as  editor,  with  the  New  York  Daily  Ad 
vertiser,  published  then  by  Childs  and  Swaine.29 
Here  he  came  into  friendly  relations  with  John 
Pintard,  who  gave  valuable  reminiscences  of 
Freneau  after  the  latter's  death. 

Jefferson  heard  of  Freneau  as  a  strong 
Democrat  in  principles  and  a  keen  writer.  He  met 
him  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  and  was  further 

27  These   same   names,   "Ella"   and   "Birtha,"   were  used  by 
two    other    poets    who    contributed    to    Fenno's    Gazette    of 
the   United  States,    1791.     See  issues   for  February   23,  April 
1 6,    May    14,    etc.      For    these    dates    I    am    indebted    to    Mr. 
Victor  H.  Paltsits. 

28  For   information   regarding   this    fact   and    his    marriage, 
see  Narrative   of  a  Journey   down    the   Ohio   and  Mississippi, 
by  Major  Samuel  Forman  (1789-90;  reprinted  1888),  pp.   10- 
ii). 

28  Hudson,  History  of  Journalism  in  the  United  States 
(1873),  p.  175. 


78       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

influenced  in  his  favor  by  Madison.  The  first 
direct  evidence  of  Jefferson's  interest  in  Freneau 
was  his  appointment  of  the  poet,  in  1791,  as  for 
eign  translator  for  the  Department  of  State  to 
succeed  Pintard,  who  did  not  care  to  leave  New 
York  when  the  seat  of  government  was  moved  to 
Philadelphia.  The  work  of  this  position  was  not 
heavy,  and  its  requirements  were  small — "no 
other  qualification  than  a  moderate  knowledge  of 
French,"  according  to  Jefferson's  words.  The 
salary  of  $200  a  year  was  acceptable  to  the  young 
man.  This  appointment,  held  by  Freneau  during 
the  two  years  when  he  was  editing  an  Anti- 
Federalist  paper,  was  widely  advertised  and 
brought  upon  him  attacks  by  political  opponents, 
who  spared  not  Jefferson  in  their  innuendoes. 
An  interesting,  unpublished  letter  has  come  to  my 
notice,  which  bears  upon  this  situation,  in  the 
manuscript  Pickering  Papers,  at  the  Massachu 
setts  Historical  Society.30  The  letter  was  written 
to  Timothy  Pickering  by  George  Taylor,  Jr., 
from  Philadelphia,  January  23,  1809: 

In  order  to  give  a  full  view  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  Mr.  Frnuuu  was  employed  as  Interpreter 
for  the  Department  of  State,  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  it  will  be 
requisite  for  me  to  go  as  far  back  as  the  year  1785. 

"Pickering  Papers,  Vol.  XXIX,  No.  50.  Copied  by  per 
mission.  The  official  correspondence  on  this  appointment  is 
in  Jefferson  Papers  (Library  of  Congress),  Series  I,  Vol.  IV, 
No.  153,  Vol.  IX,  No.  250;  Series  II,  Vol.  XXXIII,  No.  48. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  79 

On  the  first  day  of  January  in  that  year  several  of  my 
friends  at  New  York,  without  my  knowledge,  having 
recommended  me  to  Mr.  Jay,  then  Secretary  for  foreign 
affairs,  one  of  them  mentioned  it  to  me  and  desired  me 
to  wait  upon  him,  which  I  did,  when  he  engaged  me  as  a 
Clerk  in  that  Department.  Shortly  after,  Mr.  Jay  in 
conversation  pointed  out  to  me  the  advantage  of  acquir 
ing  a  knowledge  of  the  French  &  Spanish  Languages. 
Not  being  able  to  find  a  suitable  Teacher  of  the  latter, 
I  commenced  the  study  of  the  former  and  occasionally 
upon  emergencies,  I  translated  for  the  Department. 

When  in  1789  the  seat  of  Government  was  about  being 
removed  from  New  York,  finding  the  interpreter  for  the 
Department  did  not  mean  to  go  with  it,  I  called  upon 
Mr.  Jay  and  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  him,  at  the 
same  time  intimating  that,  as  I  knew  from  the  friend 
ship  he  had  evinced  for  me,  he  would  not  hesitate  to 
say  whether  he  thought  me  competent  and  that  in  case 
he  did,  I  should  esteem  it  a  favor  if  he  would  mention 
me  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  a  candidate  for  that  office.  He  at 
once  said  that  he  thought  I  was;  that  he  conceived  it  of 
importance  to  have  the  secrets  of  the  Department  con 
fined  to  as  few  a  number  as  possible,  or  to  those 
already  employed  in  it  and  therefore  would  with 
pleasure  call  upon  Mr.  Jefferson  on  the  subject. 
The  day  following  Mr.  Jay  informed  me  that  he 
had  mentioned  the  matter  to  Mr.  Jefferson  who  had  de 
clined  making  the  appointment  until  he  should  get  to 
Philadelphia,  and  advised  me  then  to  renew  my  appli 
cation. 

This  I  accordingly  did.  Mr.  Jefferson  told  me  that  he 
did  not  conceive  he  could  with  propriety  give  me  the  two 
salaries.  I  observed  that  my  salary  as  clerk  was  small, 
and  that  that  of  the  Interpreter  being  only  250  Dollars 


So  J   HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

no  man  would  accept  but  as  a  secondary  object,  and  of 
course  the  business  of  the  office  must  frequently  be  in 
terrupted  in  waiting  for  translations — that  if  I  held  it, 
I  would  always  attend  to  it  seasonably,  without  its  inter- 
fcrring  with  my  other  official  duty.  He  concluded  by 
saying  that  he  should  not  at  present  fill  up  the  vacancy. 

Some  months  or  weeks  after  this,  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  friend  at  New  York  informing  me  that  he  had 
been  told  by  Mr.  Freneau  that  he  was  appointed  Inter 
preter  for  the  Department  of  State.  I  replied  that  it 
could  not  be  correct— for  that  before  the  Government  re 
moved  from  that  city,  having  the  french  treaties  to  col 
late,  and  he  being  in  the  employment  of  Childs  &  Swain, 
who  were  printing  them,  I  asked  him  to  assist  in  the  colla 
tion  and  he  declined  it,  alleging  that  he  did  not  sufficiently 
understand  the  language,  but  from  its  affinity  to  the 
Latin,  made  out  to  read  it. 

However,  he  soon  after  came  to  this  city,  received  the 
appointment  and  in  some  cases  I  have  assisted  a  Dutch 
gentleman  then  an  inmate  of  my  family  to  translate 
french  documents  put  into  his  hands  by  Mr.  Freneau, 
which  to  my  knowledge  belonged  to  the  Department  of 
State I  do  not  recollect  when  he  resigned  but  be 
lieve  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1793 — as  in  the  winter  of 
1793-1794  I  translated  the  documents  in  the  voluminous 
correspondence  between  the  Department  of  State  and 
Genet.  .  .  . 

We  must  recall  that  this  letter  was  written  by 
a  disappointed  candidate  for  the  office  given  to 
Freneau,  but  it  indicates  the  stress  of  feeling  on 
the  matter  of  this  appointment.  This  was  in 
creased  when,  in  October,  1791,  Freneau  started  a 
newspaper,  openly  anti-Federalist  in  its  principles 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  81 

and  merciless  in  its  attacks  upon  Washington 
and  Hamilton.  There  is  evidence  that  Freneau 
did  not  come  to  Philadelphia  as  an  editor  very 
willingly,  for  he  had  planned  to  start  a  demo 
cratic  newspaper  near  his  Monmouth  home,  and 
preferred  to  keep  his  residence  there.  Madison 
urged  him  to  come  to  Philadelphia,  but  he  still 
demurred,  and  Jefferson  feared  that  he  had  lost 
his  editorial  ally.  The  former  wrote  to  Randolph, 
his  son-in-law,  of  the  influence  wielded  by  Fenno's 
Gazette  of  the  United  States,  saying : 

You  will  have  perceived  that  the  latter  (Fenno's)  is 
a  paper  of  pure  Toryism,  disseminating  the  doctrines  of 
monarchy,  aristocracy,  and  the  exclusion  of  the  people. 
We  have  been  trying  to  get  another  weekly  or  half-weekly 
set  up,  excluding  advertisements,  so  that  it  might  go 
through  the  states  and  furnish  a  whig  vehicle  of  intelli 
gence.  We  hoped  at  one  time  to  have  persuaded  Freneau 
to  set  up  here,  but  failed.31 

The  relations  between  Jefferson  and  Freneau, 
in  connection  with  the  National  Gazette,  have 
never  been  fully  settled.  In  his  own  age  the  poet 
was  very  severely  arraigned  on  account  of  his 
editorials  against  the  Federal  leaders.  Many 
of  his  friends,  in  later  life,  felt  that  he  had  been 
merely  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  Jefferson.  Others — 
and  this  seems  the  more  reasonable  opinion — be 
lieved  in  his  independent  advocacy  of  democratic 
principles.  The  sarcasms  which  gave  spice  to  the 

81  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  Vol.  V,  p.  336. 


82       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

editorial  columns  differed  little  from  the  same 
form  of  writing  in  Freneau's  earlier  and  later 
works.  Jefferson  was,  naturally,  well  pleased  to 
have  such  a  keen  free-lance  to  support  his  views; 
and  he  probably  gave  Freneau  encouragement  and 
access  to  any  democratic  publications  or  criti 
cisms  on  the  aristocratic  tendencies  of  the  Fed 
eralists.  The  detailed  story  of  Freneau's  service 
as  editor  of  this  journal,  and  his  principles  at  the 
time,  have  been  well  studied  by  Dr.  Samuel  E. 
Forman  in  "The  Political  Activities  of  Philip 
Freneau."  32 

In  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania  is  a  manuscript  letter  from  Freneau 
to  William  B.  Giles,  dated  December  2,  1793,  in 
which  he  announces  the  suspension  of  the 
National  Gazette,  thanks  his  patron  for  his  sub 
scription,  and  expresses  a  hope  that  the  paper 
may  be  revived.  The  paper  had  suspended  pub 
lication  on  October  26;  doubtless  the  prevalence 
of  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia  affected  both  its 
receipts  and  its  continuance.  Jefferson  openly 
expressed  regret  that  the  Gazette  was  discon 
tinued,  and  thus  emphasized  its  importance:  "His 
paper  has  saved  our  constitution  which  was  gallop- 

M  Samuel  E.  Forman,  "The  Political  Activities  of  Philip 
Freneau,"  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and 
Political  Science,  Series  XX,  Nos.  9,  10,  September-October, 
1902.  Jefferson's  explanation  is  in  his  Writings,  Vol.  VI,  pp. 
101-09. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  83 

ing  fast  into  monarchy  &  has  been  checked  by 
no  means  so  powerfully  as  by  that  paper."  83 

A  comparison  of  the  two  Gazettes  of  this  time 
and  city — those  edited  by  Freneau  and  Fenno  in 
the  interests  of  the  Democratic  and  the  Federal 
parties  respectively  34 — reveals  many  interesting 
paragraphs.  The  tone  of  difference  was  at  first 
mild  and  courteous,  but  gradually  waxed  bitter 
and  sharp.  Freneau  printed  in  his  Gazette, 
throughout  its  existence,  some  of  his  verses  of 
lighter  vein,  as  "The  Country  Printer,"  "The 
Jug  of  Rum,"  and  "The  Pilot  of  Hatteras,"  as 
well  as  his  more  philosophical  reverie  "On  the 
Sleep  of  Plants."  35  After  Freneau's  Gazette  had 
been  published  for  a  few  weeks,  the  attacks  which 
he  made,  with  subtle,  withering  ridicule,  upon 
Hamilton  and  John  Adams  called  forth  answering 
assaults  in  Fenno's  Gazette.  The  latter  were  less 
witty  and  far  more  virulent.  The  chief  charge 
which  they  raised  against  Freneau  was  that  he 
had  accepted  a  place  as  interpreter  in  the  Depart 
ment  of  State  and  was  guilty  of  treasonous  cen 
sure  upon  the  very  government  which  he  served. 

33  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  Vol.  I,  p.   231. 

84  Freneau's  paper  was  styled  the  National  Gazette ;  Fen- 
no's,  the  Gazette  of  the  United  States.  Files  of  these  rival 
journals  may  be  found  at  libraries  in  Philadelphia  and  at  the 
Library  of  Congress. 

35  See  National  Gazette  for  November  14,  and  December 
*9»  179*  '>  January  16,  and  January  23,  1792. 


84       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  most  pointed  attack  was  in  Fenno's  Gazette, 
in  July,  1792,  signed  "T.  L.,"36  inquiring  whether 
Freneau's  salary  was  paid  for  translating  or  for 
publications  which  vilified  the  government  which 
he  served.  With  a  sting,  which  was  intended  to 
pierce  the  mind  of  Jefferson,  he  added :  "In  com 
mon  life  it  is  thought  ungrateful  for  a  man  to 
bite  the  hand  that  puts  bread  in  his  mouth,  but  if 
the  man  is  hired  to  do  it,  the  case  is  altered." 

Because  of  insinuations  like  the  above,  Fre- 
neau  was  urged  by  Jefferson's  friends  to  take  an 
oath  before  the  mayor  of  Philadelphia  that 
no  negotiation  was  ever  opened  with  him  by  Thomas 
Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  for  the  establishment  or 
institution  of  the  National  Gazette;  that  the  deponent's 
coming  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia  as  a  publisher  of  a 
newspaper  was  at  no  time  urged,  advised  or  influenced 
by  the  above  officer,  but  that  it  was  his  own  voluntary 
act; — that  not  a  line  was  ever  directly  or  indirectly  writ 
ten,  dictated  or  composed  for  it  by  that  officer,  but  that 
the  editor  had  consulted  his  own  judgment  alone  in  the 
conducting  of  it — free,  unfettered  and  uninfluenced." 

While  the  question  of  his  coming  to  Philadel 
phia  at  the  urgent  wish  of  Jefferson  would  seem 
to  be  answered  in  the  affirmative  by  some  of  the 

M  The  communications  thus  signed  have  been  generally 
assigned  to  Alexander  Hamilton.  Freneau  wrote  in  severe 
satire  on  Hamilton's  assertion  that  "a  public  debt  is  a  public 
blessing." 

*  Gazette  of  the  United  States,  August,  1792;  also  given 
in  Forman,  Political  Activities  of  Philip  Freneau,  p.  56. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  85 

letters  of  both  Freneau  and  Jefferson,  still  extant 
and  quoted,  yet  the  oath  was  probably  taken  in 
good  faith.  Freneau's  enemies  were  not  satisfied 
to  accept  it  thus.  They  charged  him  with  per 
jury,  and  he  was  long  suspected.  In  the  main,  he 
did  not  reply  directly  in  his  paper  to  such  charges, 
but  the  pronounced  inference  from  the  para 
graphs  by  "T.  L.,"  just  quoted,  that  he  was  a 
mere  hireling  of  a  political  leader,  roused  his 
anger,  and  he  quoted  the  accusation,  and  made 
answer  :38 

The  above  is  beneath  a  reply.  It  might  be  queried, 
however,  whether  a  man  who  receives  a  small  stipend 
for  services  rendered  as  a  French  translator  to  the  de 
partment  of  State,  and,  as  editor  of  a  free  newspaper 
admits  into  his  publication  impartial  strictures  on  the 
proceedings  of  gov't,  is  not  more  likely  to  act  an  honest 
and  disinterested  part  towards  the  public,  than  a  vile  syco 
phant,39  who  obtaining  emoluments  from  government  far 
more  lucrative  than  the  salary  alluded  to  (by  undermining 
another  man  who  was  in  possession  of  the  employ) 
finds  his  interests  in  attempting  to  poison  the  minds  of 
the  people  by  propagating  and  disseminating  principles 
&  sentiments  utterly  subvertive  of  the  true  republican 
interests  of  this  country,  and  by  flattering  and  recom 
mending  every  and  any  measure  of  government,  however 

38  National  Gazette,  July  28,   1792,  p.  3. 

38  John  Fenno,  the  editor  of  the  rival  Gazette,  was  printer 
to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  also  for  the 
Treasury  Department.  His  emoluments  were  declared  to  be 
two  thousand  or  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a  year.  See 
article,  signed  G,  in  National  Gazette,  August  15,  1792. 


86      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

pernicious  &  destructive  its  tendency  might  be,  to  the 
great  body  of  people.  The  world  is  left  to  decide  on  the 
motives  of  each. 

This  prose  statement  was  followed  by  an  ode, 
beginning: 

Since  the  day  we  attempted  the  Nation's  Gazette, 
Pomposo's  dull  printer  does  nothing  but  fret. 

Now  preaching 

And  screeching, 

Then  nibbling 

And  scribbling 

Remarking 

And  barking, 

Repining 

And  Whining, 
And  still   in  a  pet 
From  morning  to  night  with  the  Nation's  Gazette. 

Instead  of  whole  columns  our  page  to  abuse, 
Your  readers  would  rather  be  treated  with  news; 

While  wars  are  a-brewing, 

And  kingdoms  undoing, 

While   monarchs    are    falling, 

And  princesses  squalling, 

While  France  is  reforming, 

And  Irishmen  storming, 

In  a  glare  of  such  splendour, 

What  nonsense  to  fret 

At  so  humble  a  thing 

As — the  Nation's  Gazette. 

Freneau's  criticism  of  Washington  as  Presi 
dent,  and  of  his  party,  did  not  lessen  his  admira 
tion  for  the  man  and  the  soldier.  Among  many 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  87 

elegies  upon  Washington  were  three  by  Freneau, 
sympathetic  and  loyal.  In  one  he  expressed  just 
resentment  at  the  extravagant  eulogies  so  com 
mon  at  the  time  of  Washington's  death;  with 
directness  and  truth  he  summarized  the  hero's 
traits : 

He  was  no  god,  ye  flattering  knaves, 

He  owned  no  world,  he  ruled  no  waves;  *J 

But, — and  exalt  it  if  you  can, — 

He   was    the   upright,    HONEST    MAN. 

This  was  his  glory,  this  outshone 
Those  attributes  you  doat  upon; 
On  this  strong  ground  he  took  his  stand, 
Such  virtue  saved  a  sinking  land.40 

In  further  proof  of  the  kindly  personal  rela 
tions  which  existed  between  Washington  and 
Freneau,  the  latter's  daughter  recalled  a  visit 
which  Washington  made  to  their  Monmouth 
home,  when  he  was  an  honored  guest  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  children.41  In  contrast  with  this 
family  story  was  another,  from  the  same  source, 
which  would  give  weight  to  the  suggestion  that 
Freneau  was  not  on  very  cordial  terms  with 
Jefferson  after  the  abandonment  of  the  Gazette. 
It  was  reported  that  Jefferson,  when  President, 
would  befriend  Freneau,  who  was  in  financial 

40  A  Collection  of  Poems,  etc.  (New  York,  1815),  Vol.  I,  p. 
161. 

41  Mary  S.  Austin,  Philip  Freneau :     The  Poet  of  the  Revo 
lution,  p.    170. 


88      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

stress,  by  appointing  him  as  postmaster,  and  he 
summoned  Freneau  to  an  audience.  The  poet 
returned  a  haughty  answer:  "Tell  Thomas 
Jefferson  that  he  knows  where  Philip  Freneau 
lives,  and  if  he  has  important  business  with 
him,  let  him  come  to  Philip  Freneau's  house  and 
transact  it."  42 

After  the  failure  of  his  Gazette,  .Freneau 
seemed  to  meet  rebuffs  and  reverses  until  the  end 
of  his  life — a  period  of  forty  years.  As  a  poet, 
he  often  lost  heart  and  was  deeply  depressed  by 
the  surroundings  of  his  chequered  life.  In  such 
moods  he  wrote  some  of  his  poems,  like  'To  the 
Americans  of  the  United  States,"  in  1796: 

The  coming  age  will  be  an  age  of  prose: 
When  sordid  cares  will  break  the  Muse's  dream, 
And  Common  Sense  be  ranked  in  seat  supreme. 

In  spite  of  such  expressions  of  bitterness,  there 
were  flashes  of  poetic  impulse,  and  constantly 
recurring  ambitions  to  try  again  his  fate  as  poet- 
editor.  After  he  had  moved  his  types  from 
Philadelphia  to  Monmouth,  he  printed  there  the 
revised  edition  of  his  poems,  adding  only  a  few 
new  ones,  but  reprinting,  with  some  corrections, 

41  Loc.  cit.,  p.  173.  Mr.  Pattee,  in  the  "Introduction"  to  his 
edition  of  Freneau's  Poems,  tells  the  same  story,  but  substi 
tutes  the  name  of  Madison  for  that  of  Jefferson,  with  no 
explanation  other  than  that  of  the  poet's  pride  (Vol.  I, 
p.  Ixxx). 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  89 

those  that  had  been  printed  by  Bailey  in   1786 
and  i;88.43 

For  a  year  he  was  editor  and  printer  of  a 
curious  little  sheet,  the  Jersey  Chronicle**  Its 
eight  quarto  pages  contained  spirited  comments 
on  politics  and  literature,  with  occasional  jibes  at 
the  "aggravating  insults  offered  to  Americans, 
notwithstanding  the  treaty  by  Mr.  Jay,  from 
which  the  temporizing  citizens  of  America  ex 
pected  so  many  advantages."  45  The  motto  of 
this  paper  was  an  apt  quotation  from  Horace: 
Inter  sylvas  Academi  quaerere  verum.  In  a  letter 
to  Madison  he  enlarged  upon  his  plans  to  spend 
the  rest  of  his  life  upon  his  Monmouth  estate  and 
edit  "a  small  weekly  newspaper  calculated  for  the 
part  of  the  country"  in  which  he  resided.  Appar 
ently  the  neighborhood  failed  to  respond.  After 
the  abandonment  of  the  journal,  from  lack  of 
subscriptions,  Freneau  wrote  again  to  Madison  : 

After  experiencing  one  or  two  disappointments,  I  am 
now,  through  the  kind  aid  of  some  friends  here,  nearly 
completing  the  project  of  a  co-partnership  with  Thomas 

43  Poems  Written  between  the  Years  1768  &  i?94  by 
Philip  Freneau  of  New  Jersey.  A  New  Edition,  Revised  and 
Corrected  by  the  Author.  Monmouth  (N.  /.).  Printed  at 
the  Press  of  the  Author:  M,  DCC,  XCV. 

"Jersey  Chronicle,  Monmouth  (N.  J.),  May  2,  1795,  to 
April  30,  1796;  file  in  Lenox  Library. 


the  issue  of  April  2,   1796,  in  the  American  Anti 
quarian   Society. 


QO      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Greenleaf  in  his  two  Papers,  The  Argus,  a  Daily  publica 
tion,  and  The  New  York  Journal,  twice  a  week :  both  on 
a  pretty  respectable  footing,  and  noted  for  a  steady  at 
tachment  to  Republican  principles,  though  open  to  all 
decent  speculations  from  any  party  if  they  choose  to 
transmit  them.  In  short,  I  would  wish  to  revive  some 
thing  in  the  spirit  of  the  National  Gazette,  if  time  and 
circumstances  allow,  and  with  proper  assistance  hope  to 
succeed ; — 
Thus, 

A  Raven  once  an  acorn  took, 

From  Bashan's  strongest  stoutest  trees; 
He  hid  it  near  a  murmuring  brook, 
And  liv'd  another  oak  to  see.46 

Whether  as  a  result  of  this  project  and  assist 
ance,  or  following  another  disappointment,  Fre- 
neau  entered  upon  his  last  journalistic  venture,  in 
New  York,  in  April,  1797,  where  for  about  a 
year  he  edited  a  tri-weekly,  the  Time-Piece  and 
Literary  Companion.47  He  had  two  associates, 
in  turn,  A.  Menut  and  M.  L.  Davis,  the  latter 
continuing  the  paper  for  a  few  months  after  Fre- 
neau  had  withdrawn  for  lack  of  financial  return. 
In  this  journal  appeared  some  of  Freneau's 
poems,  and  his  translation  of  "New  Travels  of  M. 
Abbe  Robin  in  North  America" — spicy  prose  with 
satiric  touches. 

44  Madison  Papers,  Freneau  to  Madison,  December  i, 
1796  (Library  of  Congress),  Vol.  XXI,  p.  70. 

41  Time-Piece  and  Literary  Companion,  New  York,  April, 
1797,  to  March,  1798. 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  91 

The  prose  style  of  Freneau  was,  at  its  best, 
crisp  and  simple,  in  contrast  with  the  labored 
pedantry  of  his  contemporaries.  Perhaps  the 
most  representative  example  is  Letters  by  Robert 
Slender,  0.  S.  M.48  The  "Advice  to  Young 
Authors,"  in  this  collection,  has  a  sensible 
reminder :  "Never  make  a  present  of  your  works 
to  great  men.  If  they  do  not  think  them  worth 
purchasing,  trust  me  they  will  never  think  them 
worth  reading."  "Robert  Slender,  Stocking- 
Weaver,"  became  a  favorite  pseudonym  for 
Freneau,  used  both  in  prose  and  verse.  In  the 
library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 
can  be  found  two  copies  of  a  pamphlet,  A  Laugh 
able  Poem  or  Robert  S  lender's  Journey  from 
Philadelphia  to  New  York  by  Way  of  Burlington 
and  South  Amboy.49  Intended  as  a  farce,  the 
characters  include  Robert  Slender,  Mr.  Snip, 
Billy  O'Bluster,  Snipinda,  and  the  milliner's 
maid.  In  plot,  the  writing  is  farcical,  but  the  tale 
does  not  appeal  strongly  to  our  conception  of  the 
"laughable."  There  is  drollery,  and  a  rol 
licking  meter  in  some  portions,  as  in  chapter  6, 
"The  Chapter  of  Vexations  and  Disasters,"  which 

48  The  letters  "O.S.M."   meant  "One  of  the   Swinish   Mul 
titude."      Many   of   these   letters   are   also    in    Freneau's   Mis 
cellaneous   Works   (Philadelphia,    1788). 

49  This  bore   imprint,    Philadelphia,    1809.     24   pp.     A  copy 
is    also    in    Brown    University    Library.      It    is    in    his   Poems 
k(i795) i  PP-  338-50. 


Q2       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

recalls  the  discomforts  of  that  day  of  post-chaise 
traveling : 

Coop'd  up  in  a  waggon,  the  curtains  let  down, 

At  three  in  the  morning,  we  drove  out  of  town: 

A  morning  more  dark  I  ne'er  saw  in  my  life, 

And  the  fog  was  so  thick  it  would  cut  with  a  knife; 

In  a  morning  like  this  were  the  Trojans  undone, 

When  the  horse  was  admitted,  that  never  could  run: 

It  was  a  fit  season  for  murders  and  rapes, 

For  drunken  adventures  and  narrow  escapes. 

So,  with  something  to  think  of,  and  little  to  say, 

The  driver  drove  on,  looking  out  for  the  day, 

Till  we  came  to  the  brow  of  a  damnable  hill 

Six  miles  on  our  way,  when  the  cattle  stood  still; 

"Are  you  sure  you  are  right  with  the  Waggon,"  cry'd  Snip. 

"I  am,"  said  the  driver,  and  crack'd  with  his  whip, 
Then  away  ran  the  horses,  but  took  the  wrong  road 
And  down  went  the  waggon,  with  all  its  full  load, 
Down,  deep  in  a  valley, — roll'd  over  and  over, 
Fell  the  flying  machine,  with  its  curtains  and  cover, 
Where  shatter'd  and  wounded,  no  glimpse  yet  of  day 
A   mass  of   perdition,   together   we  lay! 

The  losses  which  resulted  from  his  failures  in 
journalism  crippled  Freneau's  Monmouth  prop 
erty,  as  was  shown  in  mortgages  placed  upon  the 
estate  after  1805.  He  sought  to  redeem  his  for 
tunes  by  a  return  to  seafaring  and  trading.  His 
brother  in  South  Carolina  assisted  him  with  com 
mercial  aid.  From  1804  to  1809  he  made  several 
trips  as  a  trader  to  southern  states;  but  the 
journeys  became  irksome  to  him,  and  he  longed 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  93 

for  retirement  to  his  rural  home.  His  last  long 
cruise  was  to  the  Canary  Islands  in  1807,  as  he 
told  Madison  in  a  letter  eight  years  afterward,  in 
which  he  announced  a  new,  expensive  edition  of 
his  poems,  to  be  issued  by  David  Longworth,  and 
to  be  paid  for  by  subscription.  This  was  the 
second  two-volume  edition  which  had  been 
printed.  The  earlier  venture,  made  in  1809,  was 
an  act  of  generosity,  according  to  his  statement  to 
Madison,  in  the  same  letter  : 

That  edition  was  published  by  subscription  merely  for 
the  benefit  of,  and  to  assist  Mrs.  Bailey,  an  unfortunate 
but  deserving  widowed  female,  niece  of  General  Steele,  and 
this  consideration  alone  induced  me  to  pay  some  attention 
to  that  third  edition.60 

Freneau  was  keenly  hurt  by  the  lack  of  appre 
ciation  among  his  contemporaries ;  he  yearned  for 
some  true  sympathy  and  helpful  criticism.  The 
praise  which  he  received  was  couched  in  the 
extravagant  language  of  the  day,  and  was  irritat 
ing  rather  than  stimulating.  Such  was  the  rough 
verse  in  which  Colonel  Parke  heralded  him,  after 
Freneau's  first  collection  of  poems  appeared,  in 
1786.  Possibly  the  humor  of  Freneau  helped  him 
to  appreciate  the  last  line : 

And  when  you  are  number'd  alas !  with  the  dead, 
Your  work  by  true  wits  will  forever  be  read, 

50  Madison  Papers,  MS.  (Library  of  Congress),  January  12, 
1815. 


94      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Who,  pointing  the  finger,  shall  pensively  show 
The  lines  that  were  written,  alas !  by  Freneau." 

Another  droll  tribute  followed  his  poem,  "The 
Pilot  of  Hatteras,"  by  "Captain  Freneau,"  in  the 
Freeman's  Journal  three  years  later : 

This  celebrated  genius,  the  Peter  Pindar  of  America, 
is  now  master  of  a  Packet,  which  runs  between  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Charleston.  His  tuneful  numbers  during 
the  war  did  much  to  soften  the  disagreeable  sensations 
which  a  state  of  warfare  so  generally  occasions." 

With  the  readers  of  his  own  day  Freneau's 
verses  with  a  humorous  tone  were  in  greatest 
favor,  such  as  "Crispin  O'Connor,"  "Advice  to 
the  Ladies  Not  to  Neglect  the  Dentist,"  "The  Vil 
lage  Merchant,"  and  "Farmer  Dobbins's  Com 
plaint."  There  was  a  coarse  humor,  on  a  favorite 
subject  of  joke,  in  the  last-named  doggerel : 

TKree  daughters  I  have  and  as  prettily  made, 

As  handsome  as  any  you'll  see; 
And  lovers  they  count, — but  still  I'm  afraid 

They  always  will  hang  upon  me. 

These  bucks  of  the  town  with  their  elegant  coats 

I'm  sick  of  their  horses  and  chairs. 
They  plunder  my  hay  and  they  pilfer  my  oats, — 

Am  I  keeping  a  tavern,  my  dears?" 

"  Freeman's  Journal,  June  21,    1786. 

"Ibid.,   December  9,   1789. 

M  (Poems.  1795,  p.  19).  In  the  National  Gazette,  August 
25,  1792,  this  poem  appeared  as  "Farmer  Dobbins  to  the 
Buck-Suitors,"  signed  "Dobbins". 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  95 

This  song,  with  two  others  by  Freneau  —  "The 
Indian  Student"  and  "The  Rights  of  Man"— 
was  included  in  The  Columbian  Songster  or 
Jovial  Companion,  a  collection  of  popular  airs 
published  in  1797.  They  are  ranked  there  with 
Hopkinson's  "Battle  of  the  Kegs"  and  "With 
Jemmy  on  the  Sea." 

Another  favorite  poem,  ascribed  in  his  own 
day  to  Freneau,  and  sung  by  school-children  until 
recent  years,  was  "The  Death-Song  of  a  Chero 
kee  Indian."  It  is  not  found  in  any  of  Freneau's 
collected  poems,  and  was  ascribed  to  Mrs.  Ann 
Hunter,  of  England,  before  1806.  There  still 
seems  justice  in  asking  if  it  may  not  have  been 
written  or  adapted  by  Freneau.  As  "original 
poetry"  it  was  contributed  to  the  American 
Museum,  in  January  1787,  with  unquestioned 
authorship  by  Freneau,  thus  announced: 

THE  DEATH-SONG  OF  A  CHEROKEE  INDIAN 


The  sun  sets  at  night  ;  and  the  stars  shun  the  day  ; 
But  glory  remains  when  their  lights  fade  away. 
Begin,  ye  tormentors  :  your  threats  are  in  vain  : 
For  the  son  of  Alknomock  will  never  complain. 

Remember  the  woods  where  in  ambush  he  lay, 
And  the  scalps  which  he  bore  from  his  nation  away, 
Why  do  ye  delay?  —  till  I  shrink  from  my  pain? 
Know  the  son  of  Alknomock  can  never  complain, 


96      HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Remember  the  arrows  he  shot  from  his  bow: 
Remember  your  chiefs  by  his  hatchet  laid  low, 
The  flame  rises  high.     You  exult  in  my  pain: 
But  the  son  of  Alknomock  will  never  complain. 

I  go  to  the  land  where  my  father  is  gone: 

His  ghost  shall  exult  in  the  fame  of  his  son. 

Death  comes  like  a   friend.     He  relieves  me   from   pain. 

And  thy  son,  O  Alknomock,  has  scorn'd  to  complain. 

Duyckinck,  the  friend  of  Freneau  in  later  life, 
included  this  poem,  among  Freneau's,  in  his 
Cyclopaedia  of  American  Literature,  with  a  note 
of  explanation.  Royall  Tyler  introduced  it, 
with  the  music,  into  his  play,  The  Contrast;  54  it 
seems  unlikely  that  he  would  have  used  an  English 
song  in  this  first  American  drama,  with  its  intense 
Yankeeism.  In  style  of  writing,  in  sentiment  and 
theme,  it  is  accordant  with  Freneau's  poetry,  and 
with  his  admiration  for  the  defiant  prowess  of  the 
Indian.  In  "The  Indian  Burying-Ground"  he 
praised  the  custom  of  leaving  the  warriors,  after 
death,  in  an  upright  posture,  symbolizing  immedi 
ate  action  and  defiance  to  the  wiles  of  the  enemy. 
In  "The  Indian  Student,"  one  of  his  best  poems, 
he  awakened  sympathy  for  his  hero,  yearning  for 
the  free  life  of  the  forest,  when  he  had  been 
taken  from  it  and  placed  at  college : 

A  little  could  my  wants  supply, — 
Can  wealth  or  honor  give  me  more; 

M  The  Contrast    (Philadelphia,    1790). 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  97 

Or,  will  the  sylvan  god  deny 
The  humble  treat  he  gave  before? 

Let  seraphs  reach  the  bright  abode 
And  Heaven's  sublimest  mansions  see, — 

I  only  bow  to  NATURE'S  GOD, 
The  Land  of  Shades  will  do  for  me.55 

Reading  with  care  this  group  of  Freneau's 
poems  on  Indian  character,  it  seems  as  if  the  song 
in  question  might  be  his  rendering.  It  was  writ 
ten  after  the  first  edition  of  his  poems  was 
printed,  in  1786.  The  second  edition,  his  Miscel 
laneous  Works,56  in  1788,  was  compiled  while  he 
was  away  at  sea,  by  the  printer  Bailey,  and  Fre- 
neau  regretted  that  he  was  not  consulted  in  its 
preparation.  He  had  an  opportunity  to  place  this 
poem  in  his  Monmouth  reprint,  in  1795,  but  before 
the  edition  of  1809  appeared,  the  poem  had  been 
ascribed  to  Mrs.  Hunter.  Possibly  Freneau  was 
content  to  have  it  recognized  as  his  in  America, 
and  would  not  openly  dispute  its  authorship. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
Freneau  seldom  omitted  to  claim  as  his  own 
all  his  verses  that  had  appeared  in  magazines  or 

55  Poems  Written  between  tlie   Years  1768  &   1794   (Mot* 
mouth,    1795),    p.    80.      When    this    poem    appeared    in    the 
Pennsylvania   Packet,    June    9,    1787,    unsigned,    Freneau    ex 
plained   a    reference   to    "Harvard's    Hall,"    with   accurate   de 
tails,  as  at  Cambridge,  Mass. 

56  The    Miscellaneous     Writings    of    Mr.    Philip    Freneau 
(Philadelphia,   1788). 


98       HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

newspapers,  and  were  adapted  for  inclusion  in  his 
collected  poems. 

The  last  thirty  years  of  Freneau's  life  were  full 
of  memories  and  fading  hopes  rather  than  much 
active  service.  He  wrote  occasional  essays  and 
poems  for  the  newspapers,  often  unsigned ;  many 
of  them  may  be  found  in  Bache's  Aurora,  a  Phila 
delphia  journal  of  democratic  trend.  The  War  of 
1812  called  forth  from  him  several  patriotic  odes, 
celebrating  the  victories  of  Hull,  Decatur,  and 
their  crews.  Belonging  to  this  period  of  compo 
sition  was  his  "Ode  to  Liberty,"  beginning,  "God 
save  the  Rights  of  Man,"  which  was  sung  for 
many  years  to  the  tune  of  England's  national 
hymn — the  same  which  was  later  chosen  for  Dr. 
Smith's  national  hymn  of  America.  Because  of 
the  interest  which  seemed  to  be  revived  in  Fre- 
neau  by  his  celebrant  poems  written  during  and 
after  the  second  war  with  England,  Longworth 
decided  to  issue  his  poems  in  a  two-volume 
edition.  This  was  done  in  1815,"  and  such 
recognition  nourished  a  feeling  of  grateful  pride 
in  the  poet's  heart.  To  Madison  he  wrote : 

I  found  last  winter  that  an  edition  would  soon  be  going 
on  at  all  events,  and  in  contradiction  to  my  wishes,  as  I  had 
left  these  old  scribblings  to  float  quietly  down  the  stream 
of  oblivion  to  their  destined  element,  the  ocean  of  forget- 
fulness I  do  not  know  that  the  Verses  are  of 

"  A  Collection  of  Poems,  etc.  (2  vols. ;  New  York,   1815). 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  99 

any  superior  or  very  unusual  merit,  but  he  tells  me  the 
Town  will  have  them,  and  of  course,  have  them  they  will, 
and  must,  it  seems.68 

It  is  pathetic  to  follow,  in  letters,  Freneau's 
rising  hopes  as  a  poet,  gradually  sinking  into 
feigned  indifference,  then  into  periods  of  silence 
from  wounded  pride.  Although  he  spoke  slight 
ingly  of  his  verses,  they  were  very  precious  to 
him,  and  he  grieved  at  each  new  sign  of  neglect 
by  the  public.  Such  a  temperament,  however, 
will  feed  upon  its  own  food  of  fancy  and  hope; 
his  imaginative  delights  were  confessed  in  one  of 
his  most  dainty  odes,  "Apostrophe  to  Fancy"  : 

Wakeful,  vagrant,  restless  thing, 
Ever  wandering  on  the  wing, 
Who  thy  wondrous  source  can  find, 
FANCY,  regent  of  the  mind! 

FANCY,  to  thy  power  I  owe 

Half  my  happiness  below ; 

By  thee  Elysian  groves  were  made, 

Thine  were  the  notes  that  Orpheus  play'd; 

By  thee  was  Pluto  charm'd  so  well 

While  rapture  seized  the  sons  of  hell; 

Come,  O  come,  perceiv'd  by  none, 

You  and  I  will  walk  alone.59 

88  Madison  Papers,  Vol.  XXXV,  p.  17;  letter  dated  Janu 
ary  12,  1815. 

"*  "Ode  to  Fancy,"  Poems  Written  between  the  Years 
1768  &  1794  (i795),  P-  3i. 


ioo    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

During  the  last  years  of  his  life  Freneau  was 
often  seen  in  New  York,  where  he  would  come 
from  Monmouth  to  visit  his  friends — Governor 
Clinton,  Dr.  John  Francis,  and  other  men  of  note 
and  letters.  He  persistently  refused  to  sit  for  a 
portrait,  but,  on  one  of  these  visits  to  New  York, 
his  face  was  sketched;  after  his  death  the  draw 
ing  was  enlarged,  and  is  the  only  likeness  which 
we  possess.  The  eyes,  there  pictured,  represent 
the  tender  heart  which  could  not  endure  the  sacri 
fice  of  a  chicken  or  the  killing  of  a  fly,  and  which 
prompted  him  to  manumit  all  the  slaves  on  his 
estate  and  support  the  old  servants  from  an  in 
come  which  was  insufficient  for  all  his  own  needs. 
He  had  collected  one  of  the  best  private  libraries 
in  his  neighborhood;  this,  with  many  other 
treasured  heirlooms,  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1818.  After  the  loss  of  his  home,  he  passed  the 
rest  of  his  days  at  the  former  home  of  Mrs. 
Freneau's  father,  in  the  vicinity.  He  had  four 
daughters,  but  no  son.  His  second  daughter, 
Agnes  Freneau  Leadbeater,  was  a  beautiful,  witty 
woman.  Her  son  perpetuated  the  family  name  by 
changing  the  order  of  his  surnames.  She  was 
often  her  father's  companion  on  his  visits  to  New 
York;  she  also  inherited  some  of  his  poetic  gifts 
and  wrote  graceful  rhymes  of  domestic  life. 

Like  many  men  of  his  age,  Freneau  delighted 
to  mix  a  "glass  of  flip"  for  convivial  occasions, 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  IOI 

although  in  his  verses  he  advises  against  the 
excessive  use  of  tobacco  and  "the  jug  of  rum." 
One  of  his  most  spontaneous  lyrics  was  the  poem 
of  friendship,  'The  Parting  Glass,"  with  its  clos 
ing  stanza : 

With  him  who  loves  a  pot  of  ale, 

Who  holds  to  all  an  even  scale ; 

Who  hates  a  knave  in  each  disguise, 

And  fears  him  not  whate'er  his  size, — 

With  him,  well  pleased  my  days  to  pass, 

May  Heaven  forbid  THE  PARTING  GLASS.80 

Freneau  was  found  frozen  to  death  in  a  bog- 
meadow  after  a  severe  snowstorm,  in  December, 
1831.  He  was  returning,  in  the  evening,  from  a 
call  upon  a  friend  a  short  distance  from  his  home 
and,  at  his  advanced  age,  was  not  able  to  battle 
against  one  of  the  most  turbulent  storms  of  the 
winter.61  Local  and  New  York  newspapers  pub 
lished  brief  obituaries  of  the  poet  whom  his 
countrymen  had  seemed  to  forget.  Side  by  side, 
in  a  field  near  his  former  home,  are  the  graves  of 
Freneau  and  his  wife.  His  resting-place  was 
beneath  a  tree  where  he  frequently  sat  and  mused. 
Near  by  flows  the  little  stream  which  inspired  one 
of  his  sprightly  poems,  "The  Brook  of  the 
Valley" : 

nPoems  Written  between  the  Years  1768  &i?94  (i795), 
p.  85. 

61  Newspapers  of  the  time  mention  this  storm  as  unusually 


severe. 


102     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

When  the  shower  of  waters  fell, 
How  you  raged,  and  what  a  swell! 
All  your  banks  you  overflow'd 
Scarcely  knew  your  own  abode! 

How  you  battled  with  the  rock! 
Gave  my  willow  such  a  shock 
As   to  menace  by   its   fall 
Underbrush  and  bushes,  all! 

Muddy  now  and  limpid  next, 
Now  with  icy  shackles  vext, — 
What  a  likeness  here  we  find ! 
What  a  picture  of  mankind !  ° 

There  were  winsome  traits  in  the  personality 
of  this  elder  poet.  He  was  impractical  in  busi 
ness  and  aggressive  in  political  feelings,  but  he 
left  some  tuneful,  hopeful  messages  of  devotion 
to  nature  and  sane  living.63  He  was  not  so  far 
removed  from  our  pioneer  writers  of  repute,  as 
we  might  surmise.  When  he  died,  Irving  and  his 
Knickerbocker  friends  had  written,  not  alone  the 
Salmagundi  Papers  and  the  Knickerbocker  His 
tory  of  New  York,  but  also  The  Sketch  Book  and 
Bracebridge  Hall.  Emerson,  at  twenty-nine, 
already  gave  promise  of  becoming  a  force  in 
American  letters.  Bryant  had  written  Thanatop- 
sis  fifteen  years  before,  and  was  in  the  full 
maturity  of  his  development.  Longfellow  and 

*  The  Poems  of  Philip  Freneau  (1815),  Vol.  II,  p.  83. 
"*  It   is   fitting    that   on    his   tombstone   should   be   read    "A 
Poet's  Grave." 


PHILIP  FRENEAU  103 

Whittier  had  sounded  the  primal  notes  of  their 
poetry.  During  the  last  years  of  Freneau's  life  a 
wave  of  interest  in  American  authors  began  to 
spread  over  the  land.  He  was  not  included  in  the 
generous  plaudits  of  reviewers — possibly  because 
the  stigma  of  his  political  virulence  against  Wash 
ington's  administration  was  not  forgotten.  To 
claim  that  he  was  the  most  gifted  poet  of  Ameri 
can  literature,  prior  to  the  nineteenth  century,  is 
not  extravagant  tribute,  for  the  attempts  at  verse 
were  crude  imitations  of  Pope  and  Gray.  Many 
of  such  imitators,  who  gained  more  renown  in 
their  time  than  did  Freneau,  are  now  wholly  for 
gotten,  while  his  work  is  gaining  attention.  The 
true  distinction  that  he  merits  is  as  the  first  poet 
of  indigenous  themes,  with  a  fearless  strength  and 
a  true  promise.  In  his  poems  are  hints  of 
later,  more  familiar  verses ;  his  lyric  "To  a  Caty- 
did"  seems  suggestive,  both  in  fancy  and  form,  of 
Dr.  Holmes's  "To  an  Insect"  :64 

Tell  me,  what  did  Caty  do? 
Did  she  mean  to  trouble  you? 
Why  was  Caty  not  forbid 
To  trouble  little  Caty-did? 
Wrong  indeed,  at  you  to  fling, 
Hurting  no  one  while  you  sing 
"Caty-did!     Caty-did!     Caty-did!" 

Why    continue    to    complain? 
Caty  tells  me  she  again 
84  A  Collection  of  Poems,  etc.  (1815),  Vol.  II,  pp.  84-86, 


104    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Will  not  give  you  plague  or  pain:— 
Caty  says  you  may  be  hid, 
Caty  will  not  go  to  bed 
While  you  sing  us  "Caty-did! 
Caty-did !     Caty-did !     Caty-did !" 

Freneau's  poems  reveal  his  blended  traits 
— playfulness  mingled  with  intense  zeal,  affability 
with  possible  rancor,  delight  in  mystic  fancy  with 
vital  interest  in  true  democracy.  In  his  satires  and 
essays  he  showed  his  knowledge  of  the  best 
English  models;  his  sharp  war-poems  were  often 
reflections  of  the  Latin  satirists.  His  lyrics  of 
greatest  skill  were  adaptations  of  Gray  and 
Cowper,  with  unmistakable  signs  of  originality  in 
thought.  Although  he  retained  traits  of  French 
parentage,  he  was  a  true  American,  who  shared 
fully  in  his  country's  struggles  and  rejoiced  in  its 
progress. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL:    SATIRIST  AND 
SCHOLAR 


IV 

JOHN  TRUMBULL:    SATIRIST  AND 
SCHOLAR 

According  to  a  romantic  tradition,  a  yeoman, 
in  the  time  of  an  early  English  king,  risked  his 
own  life  in  saving  his  majesty  from  an  attack  by 
an  angry  bull.  In  return  for  this  service  he  was 
knighted  as  Turn-bull,  with  three  bulls'  heads  for 
insignia  and  a  bull's  head  for  a  crest.  A  descend 
ant  of  this  hero  married  a  wealthy  woman,  and 
the  remembrance  of  the  knight's  courage  could  not 
atone  to  her  and  her  husband  for  the  unpleasant 
name.  He  requested  that,  for  his  branch,  the 
letters  might  be  transferred ;  hence  the  name  was 
called  Trumbull  or  Trumble.  The  American  pro 
genitor  of  this  family  settled  at  Ipswich,  in  1645, 
and  had  three  sons — John,  Jonathan,  and  Benoni 
— from  whom  were  descended  the  two  Governors 
Jonathan,  the  portrait-painter  John,  and  the 
satirist  of  the  same  name. 

The  little  parish  of  Westbury,  Connecticut, 
now  a  part  of  Waterbury,  called  as  pastor  of  its 
village  church,  in  1729,  a  young  man  of  athletic 
build,  John  Trumble.  His  muscularity  seemed 
to  make  the  first  deep  impression,  according  to  a 
story  often  repeated.  A  band  of  competitive 
107 


io8    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

wrestlers,  known  as  "Town  Spotters,"  were 
accustomed  to  meet  at  a  "half-way  house"  in  the 
neighborhood,  to  decide  the  championship  of  the 
town.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  last  wrestler 
had  won  the  contest,  a  masked  stranger  appeared, 
caught  the  champion  by  the  foot,  and  threw  him 
on  the  open  fire.  The  stranger  disappeared  sud 
denly  but  was  soon  after  recognized  as  the  young 
minister,  Mr.  Trumble. 

In  the  first  church  of  the  adjacent  town  of 
Waterbury  there  ministered  a  Mr.  Leavens  worth. 
Chancing  to  meet  his  Westbury  colleague  soon 
after  the  wrestling,  he  rebuked  him  for  two  sins 
— levity,  and  rashness  in  tossing  the  wrestler  so 
near  the  fire,  at  the  risk  of  fatal  injury.  With  a 
wit  which  was  as  bold  as  his  courage,  the  younger 
clergyman  accepted  the  rebuke  for  levity,  but  de 
clared  :  "As  for  the  scorching,  I  thought  it  might 
be  my  duty  to  give  your  parishioners  a  foretaste 
of  what  they  might  expect  after  sitting  under  your 
preaching."  1 

This  Rev.  John  Trumble  was  a  man  of 
unusual  traits,  and  became  the  father  of  a 
remarkable  scholar.  His  second  son,  John,  is  the 

1  This  story  is  told  fully  in  The  Town  and  City  of  Waler- 
bury,  Connecticut,  from  the  Aboriginal  Period  to  the  Year 
Eighteen  Hundred  and  Ninety-Fire,  edited  by  Joseph  Ander 
son,  D.D.  (New  Haven,  1896),  Vol.  I,  p.  326,  327. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  109 

subject  of  this  chapter.  In  those  days  before  pre 
paratory  schools,  the  local  minister,  if  a  good 
classical  scholar,  was  often  chosen  as  tutor  to  fit 
boys  for  college.  Among  the  students  whom  Mr. 
Trumble  was  instructing  in  the  mysteries  of  Cor- 
derius,  Tully,  and  other  classic  texts,  was  William 
Southmayd,  seventeen  years  old.  The  task 
seems  to  have  been  laborious  for  both  teacher 
and  pupil,  but  persistence  won  success.  While 
this  youth  was  struggling  with  his  classic  enemies, 
a  little  boy  of  six  or  seven  years  played  about  in 
the  minister's  study  and,  perhaps  unconsciously, 
acquired  the  Latin  words  which  daunted  the  older 
pupil. 

If  we  can  believe  the  family  journals — and 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  for  distrusting 
them — little  John  Trumble2  was  the  great 
American  prodigy.  At  two  years  he  recited  all 
The  New  England  Primer  and  Watts's  Divine 
Songs  for  Children.  At  two  and  a  half  he  could 
read,  and  at  four  or  five  he  made  his  first  reading- 
excursion  through  the  Bible  and  Watts's  Lyrics. 
At  the  same  age  he  composed  rhymes  in  the  form 
of  his  venerable  model,  and  "lay  awake  some 
nights"  to  get  the  correct  prosody.  By  some  un 
explained  lapse,  he  was  unable  to  write  until  he 

2  The  name  was  spelt  Trumble  in  records  until  about 
1768. 


no    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

was  five ;  so  he  preserved  his  hymnal  compositions 
in  printed  letters.3 

After  such  a  life-record  of  five  years,  one  is 
not  surprised  to  read  that  from  five  to  seven  he 
mastered  many  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  texts  re 
quired  for  entrance  to  college.  When  two  candi 
dates  were  presented  at  Yale,  in  1757,  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Trumble,  the  older  pupil  was  nineteen  and 
the  younger,  his  son,  was  seven  years  and  five 
months.  Dr.  E.  A.  Park,  in  his  Sketch  of 
Nathaniel  Emmons,  states  that  the  latter  had  the 
honor  of  "holding  on  his  knee"  young  Trumble, 
as  he  was  examined  in  the  specified  Latin,  Greek, 
and  mathematics.4  Newspapers  at  this  early  date 
seldom  gave  personal  items,  except  marriage  and 
death  notices,  but  this  incident  was  mentioned  in 
the  Connecticut  Gazette,  September  24,  1757; 
numbered  among  the  candidates  for  admission 
was  "the  Son  of  Rev'd  Mr.  Trumble  of  Water- 
bury,  who  passed  a  good  Examination,  altho  but 
little  more  than  seven  years  of  age ;  but  on  account 
of  his  Youth  his  father  does  not  intend  he  shall 
at  present  continue  at  College." 

One  would  expect  better  judgment  from  the 

'The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull,  LL.D.  (Hart 
ford,  1820),  Memoir,  p.  10 ;  extracts  from  Trumbull  manu 
scripts  in  Tyler's  Literary  History  of  the  Revolution,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  190-94. 

*  Works  of  Nathaniel  Emmons,  Vol.  I,  p.  clxviii. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  in 

ex-wrestler,  but  he  allowed  his  son  to  spend  the 
next  six  years  reading  the  classics  usually  read  at 
college,  instead  of  roaming  about  care-free  in  the 
fields  and  woods,  to  counteract  the  mental 
excesses  of  earlier  years.  When  the  boy  entered 
Yale  at  thirteen,  he  was  so  perfected  in  Greek 
and  Latin  that  he  devoted  himself  to  mathematics, 
astronomy,  and  the  few  volumes  of  English  essay 
and  poetry  then  in  the  library.  He  had  previously 
made  acquaintance  with  Milton,  Addison,  and 
Thomson,  in  his  father's  study,  and  thus  laid  the 
foundations  for  his  own  literary  expressions. 
After  graduating,  he  remained  as  "Dean's 
scholar"  for  three  years,  until  he  won  his  master's 
degree  at  twenty  years  of  age. 

The  curriculum  and  educational  modes  at  Yale 
were  passing  through  a  transition  period.  For 
more  than  a  decade  advocates  of  a  broader  spirit 
had  sought  to  introduce  oratory,  sciences,  and 
English  literature,  as  Harvard  had  already  done. 
But  Yale,  more  conservative  in  both  educational 
and  theological  tenets,  lost  ground  among  the  pro 
gressive  men  of  the  later  Colonial  period.  Presi 
dent  Daggett  and  his  venerable  advisers  were  con 
vinced  that  "solid  learning  alone"  was  necessary, 
and  that  the  new  branches,  in  contrast  with  the 
classic  texts,  and  logic  and  theology,  represented 
"folly,  nonsense  and  an  idle  waste  of  time."  The 
crisis  came  in  1771,  when  three  of  the  conserva- 


H2     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

tive  professors   resigned,   and  Timothy  Dwight 
and  John  Trumbull  were  chosen  as  tutors.6 

In  the  library  at  Yale  University  may  be  read 
the  first  argument  in  serious  prose  by  John  Trum 
bull  in  behalf  of  the  cultivation  of  literary  tastes 
of  college  students.  It  was  entitled  An  Essay  on 
the  Use  and  Advantages  of  the  Fine  Arts*  The 
paper  revealed  a  broad  scholarship  for  that  day. 
In  a  few  words,  Trumbull  characterized  sciences, 
literature,  and  art  as  educative  agencies.  He  con 
trasted  the  culture  of  the  heathen  nations  with 
that  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  summarized  each 
classic  writer  of  special  note  in  a  few,  cogent 
sentences.  Then  followed  a  review  of  English 
history  and  literature,  from  the  reign  of  Eliza 
beth  to  the  time  of  Pope  and  Thomson.  Brought 
thus  down  to  contemporary  times,  he  urged  upon 
Americans  the  need  of  culture,  especially  along 
the  lines  of  the  fine  arts.  A  few  sentences  will 
illustrate  the  clearness  and  earnestness  of  thought : 

America  hath  a  fair  prospect  in  a  few  centuries  of 
ruling  both  in  arts  and  arms.  It  is  universally  allowed 

»W.  L.  Kingsley,  A  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Yale  Col 
lege,  Vol.  I,  pp.  95-97. 

*  An  Essay  on  the  Use  and  Advantages  of  the  Fine  Arts  : 
Delivered  at  the  Public  Commencement  in  New  Haven,  Sept. 
12,  1770  (New  Haven,  1770;  16  pages,  8vo).  Copies  of  this 
may  be  found  at  Yale  University,  Watkinson  Library  of  Hart 
ford,  Library  of  Congress,  and  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  113 

that  we  very  much  excel  in  the  force  of  natural  genius : 
and  although  but  few  among  us  are  able  to  devote  their 
whole  lives  to  study,  perhaps  there  is  no  nation  in  which 
a  larger  portion  of  learning  is  diffused  through  all  ranks 
of  people.  For  as  we  generally  possess  the  middle  station 
of  life,  neither  sunk  to  vassalage,  nor  raised  to  independ- 
ance,  we  avoid  the  sordid  ignorance  of  peasants,  and  the 
unthinking  dissipation  of  the  great. 

The  sentences  which  follow  are  significant,  for 
they  indicate  the  political  conditions  of  the  time 
and  predict  the  part  soon  to  be  played  by  Trum- 
bull  as  patriot-satirist : 

Happy,  in  this  respect,  have  been  our  late  struggles  for 
liberty !  They  have  awakened  the  spirit  of  freedom ;  they 
have  rectified  the  manners  of  the  times ;  they  have  made  us 
acquainted  with  the  rights  of  mankind;  recalled  to  our 
minds  the  glowing  independance  of  former  ages,  fired  us 
with  the  views  of  fame,  and  by  filling  our  thoughts  with 
contempt  of  the  imported  articles  of  luxury,  have  raised  an 
opposition  not  only  to  the  illegal  power,  but  to  the  effemi 
nate  manners  of  Britain Our  late  writers  in  the 

cause  of  liberty  have  gained  the  applause  of  Europe. 
Many  elegant  essays  have  been  produced  in  the  style  of 
wit  and  humour;  nor  hath  Poetry  been  entirely  unculti 
vated  among  us ! 

In  witness  of  the  last  statement,  and  in  accord 
ance  with  the  custom  of  the  times,  Trumbull 
closed  his  peroration  with  lines  of  prophecy  upon 
America's  future  bards.  This  attempt  at  verse  is 
weak  and  bombastic,  in  contrast  with  the  simpler, 
fluent  prose.  One  stanza,  often  quoted  at  the 


H4    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

time,  arouses  a  smile  today  because  of  the  allied 
names  of  the  popular  poets  in  that  day: 

This  land  her  Steele  and  Addison  shall  view, 
The  former  glories  equall'd  by  the  new; 
Some  future  Shakespeare  charm  the  rising  age, 
And  hold  in  magic  charm  the  listening  stage; 
Another  Watts  shall  string  the  heavenly  lyre, 
And  other  muses  other  bards  inspire.7 

In  spite  of  many  flaws  and  some  puerility,  this 
essay  was  remarkable  for  its  purity  and  directness 
of  diction,  in  contrast  with  the  cumbrous,  pedantic 
form  of  many  contemporary  writers.  That  it 
attracted  more  than  usual  interest,  at  the  time  it 
was  read,  is  attested  by  a  notice  in  the  Connecti 
cut  Journal,  September  30,  I77O.8  After  com 
menting  on  the  essay  as  the  chief  feature  of  the 
commencement  programme,  the  editor  eulogized 
its  author,  but  chose,  unfortunately,  his  verse 
rather  than  his  prose  for  special  praise : 

Immortal  Pope!  thy  son  immortal  see; 

He  treads  the  steps  that  once  were  trod  by  thee; 

All  that  for  future  times  he  bids  us  hope, 

We  see  in  him  as  England  saw  in  POPE. 

This  essay  was  not  the  first  venture  in  Addi- 
sonian  prose  by  Trumbull.  He  had  written 
anonymously  in  favor  of  a  study  of  modern  litera 
ture,  as  a  means  of  creating  a  progressive  spirit 

T  Loc.  cit.,  p.   1 5. 

•Not  November  30,  as  cited  by  Tyler,  Literary  History  of 
the  Revolution,  Vol.  I,  p.  210. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  115 

at  the  colleges.  With  earnestness,  lightened  by 
mild  ridicule,  he  wrote  several  editorials, 
signed  "The  Meddler,"  for  the  Boston  Chronicle, 
from  September,  1769,  to  January,  1770.  The 
errors  of  the  day  in  educational  ideas  and  in  social 
standards,  as  well  as  the  religious  narrowness,  all 
came  under  his  censure.  To  relieve  heaviness, 
he  introduced  a  few  satiric  sketches,  like  that  of 
Jack  Dapperwit,  who  had  later  companions  in  The 
Progress  of  Dulness.9  "Wit;  True  and  False," 
and  the  abuses  of  newspaper  writing,  were  treated 
with  frankness.10  Some  of  the  articles  were 
signed  "The  Schemer,"  an  ally  of  "The  Med 
dler."  All  had  the  same  aim,  announced  with 
the  confidence  of  youth — "assistance,  (however 
trifling  soever  it  may  be)  towards  instructing  the 
ignorant,  diverting  and  improving  the  learned, 
rectifying  the  taste  and  manners  of  the  times,  and 
cultivating  the  fine  arts  of  the  land." 

The  first  essay  by  "The  Meddler"11  struck  the 
keynote  of  the  series  in  a  remonstrance  against 
the  shams  and  veneer  of  life,  versus  its  realities. 
As  an  example,  he  cited  the  fashion  of  publication 

9  Progress  of  Dulness,  etc.   (1772)  ;  see  later  pages  of  this 
chapter. 

10  "The  Meddler,"  II,  Boston  Chronicle,  September   14-18, 
1769.       Some    of    these    papers    were    probably    written    by 
Timothy  Dwight  and  other  friends  of  Trumbull,  but  his  ideas 
and   style  are   recognized  in  many. 

11  Boston  Chronicle,  September  4-7,   1769. 


n6    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

then  in  vogue,  with  a  caricature  of  the  author's 
entrance  in  a  grand  "equipage"  and  heralded  by 
a  pompous  preface.  With  ridicule  he  concluded : 

And  sometimes  for  our  further  information,  a  curious 
frontispiece  is  engraved,  containing  an  elegant  portrait  of 
the  Author,  surrounded  with  antique  symbols,  and  alle 
gorical  devices ;  such  as  Minerva,  Apollo  or  some  other  of 
their  Godships,  standing  by  him  with  a  label  of  "Hie  est 
nirus"  or  something  familiar  hanging  out  at  their  mouths. 

Again,  he  was  ironical  regarding  the  so-called 
"gentlemanly  qualifications" — extravagant  man 
ners  and  dress,  dancing,  complimenting,  cursing, 
drinking,  gaming,  etc.12  In  contrast  was  the  atti 
tude  of  the  day  toward  the  cultivation  of  a  love 
for  letters : 

Poetry  is  indeed  much  neglected  in  this  age,  being 
looked  upon  as  the  lowest  qualification  of  a  gentleman. 
Under  this  head,  as  I  am  an  advocate  for  the  moderns,  I 
will  make  use  of  the  best  arguments  I  can  in  their  favour. 
It  is  a  well-known  maxim  that  every  poet  is  a  fool:  if 
this  be  true,  I  believe  that  no  one,  who  has  read  thus  far, 
can  doubt  of  our  qualification  for  that  office. 

Such  an  anticlimax  was  often  used  by  Trumbull, 
with  humorous  effect. 

"The  Schemer"  delighted  to  satirize  the  artful 
ness  of  the  young  ladies,  who  resorted  to  silly 
schemes  to  captivate  the  men.  Behind  clever 
parody  was  an  earnest  remonstrance  against  the 
mere  "accomplishments"  which  formed  the  usual 

""The  Schemer,"  ibid.,  December  18,   1769. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  117 

education  of  women  of  that  period,  leaving  their 
minds  vacant  and  fickle.  In  burlesque,  appeared 
the  following  "Advertisement" : 

To  Be  Sold  at  Public  Vendue, 

The  Whole  Estate  of 
Isabelle  Sprightly,  Toast  and  Coquette, 

(Now  retiring  from  business) 

This  announcement  was  followed  by  a  detailed 
list  of  her  "Tools  and  Utensils" — darts,  arrows, 
patches,  cosmetics,  caps,  Cupids,  and  other  adorn 
ments,  "very  proper  to  be  stationed  on  a  ruby  lip, 
a  diamond  eye,  or  a  roseate  cheek."  13 

These  newspaper  essays,  written  while  Trum- 
bull  was  still  a  student  at  Yale  studying  for  his 
second  degree,  were  followed  by  others  of  similar 
tone  in  the  Connecticut  Journal,  during  the  spring 
of  1770,  under  the  signature  of  "The  Corre 
spondent."  The  authors  treated  many  of  the  same 
topics  as  before,  but  wrote  with  more  boldness 
and  conviction  upon  certain  other  interests  of  the 
day,  as  second-sight,  palmistry,  the  morality  of 
dancing,  and  the  promotion  of  the  slave-trade  by 
"so-called  Christians." 

Such  ventures  in  authorship,  and  the  liberal, 
fearless  ideas  there  advocated,  called  popular  at 
tention  to  the  young  man,  who  had  amazed  New 

18  Boston  Chronicle,  October  23-26,  1769,  signed  "B."  This 
cannot  be  proved  to  be  Trumbull's,  but  bears  close  relation 
ship  to  his  later  satires. 


Ii8     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Haven  professors  by  his  brilliant  scholarship  as 
a  boy.  With  wisdom,  as  was  proved  in  his 
mature  life,  he  chose  to  study  law,  since  devotion 
to  letters  would  bring  meager  return  as  a  life- 
profession.  For  this  purpose  he  went  to 
Wethersfield  for  a  year;  but  the  reading  of  law 
was  somewhat  interrupted,  for  he  was  called  back 
to  Yale  as  tutor.  He  continued  his  studies  for 
the  profession,  however,  and  became  a  successful 
lawyer  and  judge. 

Meantime  the  progressive  spirit  at  Yale,  advo 
cated  by  the  younger  graduates,  had  gained  the 
ascendency.  The  autumn  of  1771  found  three 
young  tutors  at  the  college,  men  of  reforming 
zeal  and  popularity — Joseph  Howe,  Timothy 
Dwight,  and  John  Trumbull.  The  beauty  of 
Howe's  character  called  forth  tributes  from  his 
parishioners  in  Boston,  where  he  preached  for  a 
brief  while  before  his  death  in  1775.  With  less 
alertness  and  confidence  than  Trumbull  and 
Dwight,  Howe  was  a  very  popular  teacher  at 
Yale  and  awakened  noble  ambition  in  the  souls  of 
his  pupils.  The  effect  of  his  benign  personality 
upon  Trumbull  was  expressed  in  the  closing  lines 
of  the  latter's  "Ode  to  Sleep" : 

Teach  me,  like  thee,  to  feel  and  know 
Our  humble  station  in  this  vale  of  woe, 
Twilight  of  life,   illumed  with   feeble  ray, 
The  infant  dawning  of  eternal  day; 


JOHN  TRUMBULL 

With  heart  expansive  through  this  scene  improve 
The  social  soul  of  harmony  and  love.14 


During  Trumbull's  two  years  of  teaching  at 
Yale  he  devoted  himself  to  both  law  and  litera 
ture.  His  capacity  for  mental  work  was  phe 
nomenal  throughout  his  life.  By  the  students  he 
was  considered  a  man  of  marvelous  brain-power ; 
but  he  was  also  a  social  favorite.  Among  the 
boys  he  was  familiarly  called  "Trum."  In  a 
romance  which  reveals  truthfully  the  life  at  Yale 
during  the  years  just  prior  to  the  war,  James 
Eugene  Farmer  has  devoted  one  chapter  to  "An 
Evening  with  Trumbull."15  There  are  also  vivid 
glimpses  in  this  story  of  popular  students  like 
Nathan  Hale  and  David  Humphreys.  In  this 
fictional  narrative  the  students  are  listening  with 
delight  to  Trumbull's  reading  from  two  incom 
plete  satires.  One  of  these  was  The  Advertise 
ment  of  a  Coquette,  already  quoted,  and  the  other 
was  the  first  part  of  The  Progress  of  Dulness. 

The  question  has  been  asked,  by  Tyler  and 
other  critics,  whether  satire  was  a  natural  or  an 
accidental  form  of  literary  expression  on  the  part 
of  Trumbull.  He  once  asserted  that  his  native 

14  The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull   (1820),  Vol.  II, 
p.  120. 

15  James  Eugene  Farmer,  Brinton  Eliot;  front  Yale  to  York- 
town,  (New  York,   1902),  part  I,  chap.  7. 


120    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

taste  was  imaginative  rather  than  satirical,  and 
that  the  latter  trend  came  from  the  political  con 
ditions  which  confronted  and  stirred  him.  Evi 
dence  from  his  literary  efforts  of  varied  types,  and 
also  from  reading  some  of  his  keen,  satiric 
pleas  and  letters,  seems  to  indicate  that  satire  was 
a  legitimate  expression  of  his  witty,  penetrating 
mind.  Doubtless  it  was  fostered  both  by  the 
political  conflict,  and  also  by  his  devotion  to  the 
English  essayists  of  satirical  form.  Before  the 
patriotic  impulse  had  awakened  within  him,  he 
had  chosen  to  write  in  burlesque  and  satire.  Un 
like  Freneau,  he  showed  no  proof  of  a  poetic 
temperament,  before  or  after  the  stress  of  war 
and  national  federation.  His  work  that  has  lived 
in  memory  has  been  that  of  the  satirist  and 
scholar.  His  only  attempts  at  verse  of  lyrical 
kind  were  labored  and  stilted. 

Among  his  burlesques,  The  Progress  of  Dul- 
ness  will  take  rank  as  inventive  and  forceful.16 
This  was  conceived  when  the  leaders  of  pro- 

18  The  title-page  of  the  first  part  of  The  Progress  of 
Dulness  is  unique  and  interesting:  "Part  First:  or  the 
Rare  Adventures  of  Tom  Brainless ;  shewing  What 
his  Father  and  Mother  said  of  him ;  how  he  went  to 
College,  and  what  he  learned  there ;  how  he  took  his 
Degree,  and  went  to  keeping  School ;  how  afterwards  he 
became  a  great  man  and  wore  a  wig  ;  and  how  any  body  else 
may  do  the  same.  The  like  never  before  published.  Very 
proper  to  be  kept  in  all  Families."  (17?*.) 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  121 

gressive  methods  in  education,  among  whom  was 
Trumbull,  were  trying  to  overthrow  prejudices 
and  false  standards  at  Yale.  The  satire  was  in 
octosyllabic  meter,  in  three  parts,  published  at 
intervals  of  a  few  months.  The  first  issue  told  of 
the  career  of  Tom  Brainless,  a  dull  lad  who  had 
been  sent  to  college  to  fritter  time  away  upon 
stilted,  uninspiring  texts.  He  succeeded  in  "hood 
winking"  professors,  so  that  he  was  passed 
through  college  and  entered  the  school  of  the 
ology.  With  the  same  spiritless,  droning  routine, 
he  became  a  minister.  In  his  pulpit  he  is  thus 
portrayed : 

In  awkward  tones,  nor  said  nor  sung, 
Slow  rumbling  o'er  the  faltering  tongue, 
Two  hours  his  drawling  speech  holds  on, 
And  names  it  preaching  when  'tis  done. 

The  type  of  the  teacher  unworthy  the  name  was 
also  satirized : 

Then  throned  aloft  in  elbow  chair, 

With  solemn  face  and  awful  air, 

He  tries,  with  ease  and  unconcern, 

To  teach  what  ne'er  himself  could  learn; 

Gives  law  and  punishment  alone, 

Judge,  jury,  bailiff  all  in  one; 

Holds  all   good  learning  must  depend 

Upon  his  rod's  extremest  end, 

Whose  great  electric  virtue's  such 

Each  genius  brightens  at  the  touch ; 

With  threats  and  blows,  incitements  pressing, 


122     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Drives  on  his  lads  to  learn  each  lesson, 

Thinks  flogging  cures  all  moral   ills 

And  breaks  their  heads  to  break  their  wills. 

Beside  this  dull  master  of  the  rod  is  the  teacher 
who  was  long  known  as  "the  book-worm,"  thus 
portrayed  with  justice  as  well  as  wit : 

Read  ancient  authors  o'er  in  vain, 
Nor  taste  one  beauty  they  contain, 
And  plodding  on  in  one  dull  tone, 
Gain  ancient  tongues  and  lose  their  own." 

The  first  part  of  this  burlesque  was  reprinted, 
in  a  corrected  edition,  the  year  after  its  appear 
ance.  In  a  preface  note,  Trumbull  explained  its 
purport  thus: 

The  subject  is  the  state  of  the  times  in  regard  to  litera 
ture  and  religion.  The  author  was  prompted  to  write  by 
a  hope  that  it  might  be  of  use  to  point  out,  in  a  clear,  con 
cise,  and  striking  manner,  those  general  errors,  that  hinder 
the  advantages  of  education,  and  the  growth  of  piety. 
The  subject  is  inexhaustible;  nor  is  my  design  yet  com 
pleted." 

As  proof  of  the  last  sentence,  he  published  this 
same  year,  1773,  the  second  part  of  the  burlesque. 
Here  the  character  ridiculed  was  Dick  Hairbrain, 
antitype  of  the  first  dull  collegian,  but  equally 
familiar  then  and  today.  His  foppish  airs,  his 

"The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull  (1820),  Vol.  II, 
p.  17. 

"  The  Progress  of  Dulness,  etc.,  Reprinted  in  the  Year 
MDCC,  LXXIII,  Preface,  p.  2. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  123 

feather  brain,  his  swagger  and  swearing,  his 
skeptical  opinions  exploited  after  a  hasty  reading 
of  Hume  and  Voltaire — such  qualities  were  de 
lineated  with  keen,  biting  sarcasm.  The  style  in 
this  part  was  more  earnest  than  in  the  earlier 
issue.  There  were  lines  of  moral  teaching, 
mingled  with  the  portrayal  of  the  rakish  student : 

More  oaths  than  words  Dick  learned  to  speak, 
<\      And  studied  knavery  more  than  Greek. 

The  career  of  this  young  man  abroad,  his  excesses 
and  failures  to  win  respect  or  success,  are  told 
with  vividness,  until 

In  lonely  age  he  sinks  forlorn, 

Of  all,  and  even  himself,  the  scorn.19 

To  complete  the  trilogy  of  characters,  mis 
guided  and  educated  according  to  wrong  stand 
ards,  Trumbull  introduced  in  the  third  part  Miss 
Harriet  Simper,  a  vain  coquette.  In  a  preface, 
the  author  affirmed  "that  the  foibles  we  discover 
in  the  fair  sex  arise  principally  from  the  neglect 
of  their  education,  and  the  mistaken  notions  they 
imbibe  in  their  early  youth."  The  same  thought 
was  thus  expressed  in  ironical  verse : 

And  why  should  girls  be  learn'd  or  wise? 

Books  only  serve  to  spoil  their  eyes. 

The  studious  eye  but  faintly  twinkles, 

And  reading  paves  the  way  to  wrinkles. 

19  The  Progress  of  Dulness,  Part  II,  "Life  and  Character 
of  Dick  Hairbrain"  (New  Haven,   1773),  p.  38. 


124    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

To  give  a  touch  of  romantic  unity,  Trumbull 
depicted  his  coquette  in  various  flirtations; 
she  is  scorned  by  Dick  Hairbrain  and  marries 
Tom  Brainless,  to  escape  the  "stigma  of  being  an 
old  maid."  20 

This  burlesque  was  popular  as  a  production  of 
wit,  and  it  exerted  no  little  influence  as  a  rebuke 
to  the  conditions  of  the  time  which  fostered  such 
drones,  fops,  and  coquettes.  The  pages  contain 
some  pictures  of  society  and  epigrams  which  are 
relevant  today,  as : 

Follies  be  multiplied  with  quickness, 
And  whims  keep  up  the  family  likeness. 

Good  sense,  like  fruit,  is  rais'd  by  toil, 
But  follies  sprout  in  every  soil.21 

After  two  years  as  teacher  at  Yale,  Trumbull 
passed  his  law  examinations.  Possibly  in  order 
that  he  might  have  a  wider  contact  with  men  of 
affairs,  he  went  to  Boston,  in  November,  1773,  to 

"In  the  complete  poem  the  third  part  reads:  "Some 
times  called  The  Progress  of  Coquetry,  or  the  Adventures  of 
Miss  Harriet  Simper,  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut."  In  the 
preface  the  author  expresses  his  desire  "to  laugh  at  with  good 
humor,  and  to  expose  without  malevolence."  Of  the  young 
lady's  mother  he  writes : 

From  whom  her  faults  that  never  vary, 

May  come  by   right  hereditary. 

The   Progress    of  Dulncss,   or    the  Rare   Adventures   of   Tom 
Brainless.     By  the  celebrated  author  of  McFlNGAL.    Printed 
at  Exeter.     3  parts.     MDCCXCIV.     72  pages;   i6mo. 
nThe  Progress  of  Dulness   (1794).  PP-   49.   53- 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  125 

the  law  office  of  John  Adams.  This  year  gave 
new  impulse  to  his  interests  and  literary  activities. 
He  had  taken  a  mild  part  in  urging  freedom  of 
expression  in  America  and  had  praised  the  tend 
ency  toward  resistance.  Now  he  came  into  per 
sonal  contact  with  statesmen  who  had  already 
shown  their  radical  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act 
and  other  measures  of  injustice.  Soon  after  he 
reached  Boston,  the  affair  of  the  tea-ships  took 
place,  and  the  military  discipline  directed  against 
Boston  increased  the  political  ferment.  All  these 
steps,  tending  toward  independence  and  war,  must 
have  impressed  a  young  man  so  keen  and  zealous 
for  reform  as  Trumbull  was.  His  legal  chief, 
John  Adams,  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  lead 
ers  among  the  patriots  and  was  sent  to  Phila 
delphia  to  attend  the  Continental  Congress  of 
1774  while  Trumbull  was  in  his  office. 

The  influence  of  these  agitations,  and  the 
political  principles  involved,  may  be  read  in  the 
literary  work  of  Trumbull  during  this  year  and 
the  following.  His  first  writing  in  verse,  "The 
Destruction  of  Babylon"  22  was  probably  only  the 
completion  of  an  earlier  effort.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  a  few  lines,  which  might  be  applied  to  the 

22  This  paraphrase  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  chap 
ters  in  Isaiah  and  the  eighteenth  in  Revelations  was  included 
in  The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull  (1820),  Vol.  II, 
pp.  195-201. 


126     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

situation  in  Boston  and  the  incipient  thought  of 
freedom,  the  poem  showed  no  distinct  marks  of 
its  author's  environment.  At  about  the  same  time 
he  wrote  certain  light  fables  in  verse,  as  "The 
Owl  and  the  Sparrow"  and  "To  a  Young  Lady 
Who  Requested  the  Author  to  draw  Her 
Character."  These  are  merely  occasional  verses, 
with  bits  of  covert  sarcasm. 

Quite  a  new  spirit  permeates  "An  Elegy  on 
the  Times,"  which  was  first  printed  at  Boston, 
September,  I774.23  The  author  said  that  it  was 
written  soon  after  the  Boston  Port  Bill.  It  had 
a  tone  of  sadness  as  well  as  of  courage,  as  if 
Trumbull  still  hoped  that  the  worst  might  be 
averted,  but,  if  necessary,  he  would  defend  his 
country's  rights  with  his  pen.  A  few  stanzas 
show  the  deepening  zeal  of  this  awakened  patriot : 

In  vain  we  hope  from  ministerial  pride 

A  hand  to  save  us  or  a  heart  to  bless : 
Tis  strength,  our  own,  must  stem  the   rushing  tide, 

Tis  our  own  virtue  must  command  success. 

Then,  tell  us,  NORTH,  for  thou  art  sure  to  know, 
For  have  not  kings  and  fortunes  made  thee  great; 

Or  lurks  not  wisdom  in  th'  ennobled  brow, 
And  dwells  no  prescience  in  the  robes  of  state? 

And  tell  how  rapt  by .  freedom's  sacred  flame 
And  fost'ring  influence  of  propitious  skies, 

"Published  in  Boston,  1774;  in  New  Haven,  1775. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  127 

This  western  world,  the  last  recess  of  fame, 
Sees  in  her  wilds  a  new-born  empire  rise, — 

A  new-born  empire  whose  ascendant  hour 

Defies  its  foes,  assembled  to  destroy, 
And  like  Alcides,  with  its  infant  power 

Shall  crush  those  serpents,  who  its  rest  annoy.24 

These  stanzas  seem  faulty  judged  by  poetical 
canons,  but  they  were  superior  to  the  majority 
of  verses  of  these  years.  Philip  Freneau's  best 
satires  began  to  appear  within  a  few  months,  but 
Trumbull  preceded  in  literary  evidence  of  patriot 
ism,  combined  with  keen  wit.  By  his  contempo 
raries  he  was  called  "the  finest  satirical  lance  of 
the  age,"  and  was  urged  to  write  yet  other  poems 
for  the  cause  of  freedom.  He  had  come  into 
friendly  relations  with  James  Otis,  John  Han 
cock,  John  Adams,  and  Thomas  Gushing.  The 
influence  of  these  patriots  doubtless  incited 
Trumbull  to  the  burlesque  stanzas  which  were 
afterward  expanded  into  his  masterpiece  of  satire, 
"M'Fingal."  To  the  Marquis  de  Chastelleux, 
after  M'Fingal  had  become  known  in  Europe  as 
well  as  in  America,  Trumbull  wrote  that  "it  was 
written  merely  with  a  political  view,  at  the  insti 
gation  of  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
first  Congress  who  urged  me  to  compose  a 

24  The  Poetical  Works  (1820),  Vol.  II,  pp.  208-17. 


1 28]  [HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

satirical  poem  upon  the  events  of  the  campaign 
of  1775."  25 

Parts  of  this  satire  were  written  during  the 
latter  part  of    1774  and   at   intervals   in    1775. 
Although  the  first  edition  bears  the  date  of  pub 
lication   1775,   it  was  really  issued  in  January, 
1776.       The    bravado    of    General    Gage    had 
weakened    somewhat    after    the    evidence    of 
bravery,  as  well  as  defiance,  on  the  part  of  the 
beleaguered  Bostonians.     To  quell  their  patriotic 
zeal  and  still  protect  himself,  he  began  issuing 
proclamations,  some  intimidating,  others  with  a 
patronizing  note  that  was  almost  insulting.   These 
may  be  found  in  all  the  leading  newspapers  of  the 
time.     They  gave  incentive  to  the  first  political 
lampoons    and    satires    by    both    Trumbull    and 
Freneau.     The  former  contributed  to  the  Con 
necticut  Courant,  August,  7  and    14,    1775,  an 
unsigned  parody  upon  Gage's  proclamations,  that 
contains    lines    almost    identical    with    his    later 
passage  in  the  second  canto  of  M'Fingal: 
The  annals  of  his  first  great  year; 
While  wearying  out  the  Tories'  patience, 
He  spent  his  breath  in  proclamation; 
While  all  his  mighty  noise  and  vapour 
Was  used  in  wrangling  upon  paper. 

"J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  "The  Origin  of  M'Fingal," 
Historical  Magazine,  January,  1868;  see  also  letter  by  Trum 
bull  on  subject  to  Silas  Deane,  Deane  Papers,  Vol.  II,  pp. 
88-9,  New  York  Historical  Society  Collections. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  129 

J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  in  his  study  of  "The 
Origin  of  M'Fingal,"  has  suggested  that  possibly 
Trumbull  wrote  the  parody  upon  Gage's  procla 
mation  beginning, 

TOM    GAGE'S    PROCLAMATION, 
Or  blustering  Denunciation, 

which  appeared  in  the  Connecticut  Courant,  July 
J7>  T775-  As  has  been  stated  in  the  chapter  on 
Freneau,  the  weight  of  evidence,  as  given  by  Mr. 
Paltsits,  both  in  his  bibliography  of  Freneau  and 
in  a  private  letter,  would  seem  to  disprove  the 
possibility  that  this  was  Trumbull's,  for  it  had 
appeared  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  papers 
before  it  was  printed  in  those  of  Connecticut. 

The  first  canto  of  M'Fingal,  published  in  Phila 
delphia,  was  soon  circulated  through  the  news 
papers  and  reprinted  in  several  editions.  It  was 
viewed  with  dismay  by  the  British  leaders,  for  it 
was  too  popular  to  be  counteracted  by  any  Tory 
satire.26  The  second  canto  came  within  the  year 
1776,  but  the  third  part  was  deferred  until  1782. 

M'Fingal,  the  Loyalist,  is  a  well-conceived  and 
sustained  character.  His  introduction  was  pre 
ceded  by  a  few  lines  of  general  ridicule : 

When   Yankees,   skill'd    in   martial    rule, 
First  put  the  British  troops  to  school; 

26  The  effect  of  this  satire  was  cumulative.  It  appeared 
near  the  time  of  Hopkinson's  A  Pretty  Story  and  A  Prophecy, 
and  Thomas  Paine's  Common  Sense. 


130     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Instructed  them  in  warlike  trade, 
And  new  manoevres  of  parade, 
The  true  war-dance  of  Yankee  reels, 
And  manual  exercise  of  heels; 
Made  them  give  up,  like  saints  complete, 
The  arm  of  flesh,  and  trust  the  feet. 
And  work  like  Christians  undissembling, 
Salvation  out  by  fear  and  trembling; 
Taught   Percy  fashionable  races 
And  modern  modes  of  Chevy-Chases; 
From  Boston,  in  his  best  array, 
Great  Squire  M'Fingal  took  his  way, 
And  grac'd  with  ensigns  of  renown, 
Steer'd  homeward  to  his  native  town. 

His  fathers  flourished  in  the  Highlands 
Of  Scotia's   fog-benighted  islands; 
Whence  gained  our  Squire  two  gifts  by  right, 
Rebellion  and  the  Second-sight." 

In  contrast  with  M'Fingal  was  the  character 
of  Honorius,  the  staunch  Whig,  generally  con 
sidered  a  portrait  of  John  Adams.  In  the  scene 
of  the  town-meeting,  which  has  its  forenoon  and 
afternoon  sessions  respectively  in  Cantos  I  and 
II,  Honorius  speaks  lx>ldly  regarding  the  arro 
gance  and  injustice  of  England  and  her  decline 
in  power.  Gage  had  explained  to  various  colonial 
officers,  among  them  Governor  Trumbull  of  Con 
necticut,  that  he  sent  his  troops  to  Concord  merely 
"to  prevent  a  civil  war."  This  statement  was 

" M'Fingal:    A  Modern  Epic  Poem,  Canto  I,  p.  4. 


M'FING  AL: 


. 

A      MODERN 


EPIC   POEM. 

CANTO     FIRST, 


O    R 


THE    TOWN -MEETING, 

• 

i    • 


P    If    I    I     A    D    E    I    P    U    I    A: 


Printed  and  Sold  by  WU.UAM  and  TK<-,JAS  EIXAD- 
row>T  at  the  London  Coffee-  HouTc, 

f. 


Title-page  of  first  edition  of  M*  Fin  gal;  from  copy  in  Watkin- 
son  Library,  Hartford,  Conn. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  I31 

used  with  caustic  effect  in  the  speech  of  Honorius, 
in  Canto  II : 

There,  when  the  war  he  chose  to  wage, 
Shone  the  benevolence  of  Gage; 
Sent  troops  to  that  ill-omen'd  place, 
On  errands  mere  of  special  grace; 
And  all  the  work  he  chose  them  for, 
Was  to  prevent  a  civil  war. 
For  which  kind  purpose  he  projected 
The  truly  certain  way  t'  effect  it, 
To  seize  your  powder,  shot  and  arms, 
And  all  your  means  of  doing  harms ; 
As   prudent   folks   take  knives   away, 
Lest  children  cut  themselves  at  play. 
And  yet,  when  this  was  all  his  scheme, 
The  war  you  still  will  charge  on  him; 
And  tho'  he  oft  has  sworn  and  said  it, 
Stick  close  to  facts  and  give  no  credit. 

In  a  fractious  temper,  M'Fingal  tries  to  re 
spond,  taunting  the  Whigs  with  both  cowardice 
and  foolishness.  Interrupted  by  sharp  questions 
and  sarcasms  from  Honorius,  he  pleads  in  vain 
the  cause  of  British  justice.  At  last,  recognizing 
that  he  is  losing  ground,  he  passes  into  a  trance 
of  second-sight,  and  depicts  his  vision  of  the 
grand  rewards  assured  to  the  Tories  who  will 
stand  by  their  king  in  the  conflict.  In  the  great 
day  of  British  victory — 

Whigs  subdued,  in  slavish  awe, 

Our  wood  shall  hew,  our  water  draw, 


132     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

And  bless  that  mildness,  when  past  hope, 
Which  sav'd  their  necks  from  noose  of  rope." 

By  this  speech  of  M'Fingal,  Honorius  has 
gained  a  point — exposure  of  the  greed  and  dis 
loyalty  of  the  Tories — and  he  breaks  forth  into 
an  eloquent  plea  for  patriotism.  M'Fingal  and 
his  friends  find  their  only  resource  in  stirring  up  a 
riot  by  hisses;  and  thus  ends  the  town-meeting.29 

When  this  satire,  of  fifteen  hundred  lines,  was 
reprinted  in  Hartford,  London,  Boston,  and 
elsewhere,  it  attracted  universal  attention.  In 
England  there  was  much  speculation  as  to  its 
authorship.  It  was  accredited  to  Butler  and  other 
wits.  Some  affirmed  that  it  was  the  work  of  a 
British  officer  who  had  been  superseded  in  com 
mand,  and  who  chose  this  method  of  venting  his 
wrath.  In  the  "Memoir"  to  his  Poetical  Works, 
Trumbull  referred  to  the  various  surmises  regard 
ing  the  authorship  of  "M'Fingal,"  and  said  that 
there  were  ascribed  to  him 
Jests  he  ne'er  uttered,  deeds  he  ne'er  atchiev'd, 
Rhymes  he  ne'er  wrote,  and  lives  (thank  heaven)  he  never 

lived" 

"  M'Fingal,  a  Modern  Epic  Poem,  Canto  II,  p.  41.  The 
name  was  from  Fingal,  an  epic  poem  by  Ossian,  published  by 
MacPherson. 

"  It  was  stated  that  forty  editions  of  the  first  two  cantos 
were  printed.  One  of  the  best  collections  of  editions  is  in  the 
Watkinson  Library  of  Hartford.  Several  are  also  found  in 
the  Library  of  Congress,  Brown  University,  and  elsewhere. 

*  The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull,  "Memoir,"  p.  8. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  133 

The  fact  that  Trumbull  was  the  author  of  this 
satire  was  known,  however,  long  before  the  third 
canto  was  written.  This  came  in  response  to  a 
popular  demand.  There  he  depicted  his  Scottish 
orator  as  seized  by  a  mob  and  tried  by  a  hastily 
convened  court  at  the  foot  of  a  Liberty  Pole ;  he 
was  convicted  of  Toryism,  and  condemned  to  a 
coat  of  tar  and  feathers.  The  illustration  of  this 
scene  in  later  editions  was  rude,  but  vigorous. 
In  the  last  canto  the  once  vain-glorious  leader  of 
the  Loyalists  had  assembled  his  anxious,  dwind 
ling  followers  to  cheer  them  with  another  vision. 
Meanwhile,  the  entrance  of  the  Whig  forces 
scattered  the  company,  and  the  frightened 
M'Fingal  escaped  to  Boston. 

The  last  portion  of  the  satire  was  weak,  in 
contrast  with  the  earlier,  spirited  cantos,  al 
though  there  were  two  passages  of  clever  con 
struction.  The  first  was  the  famous  scene  of  the 
tar-and-feather  process,  once  so  popular  as  a 
means  of  punishment.  This  description  by  Trum 
bull  was  long  a  favorite  "piece"  for  recital  by 
schoolboy  orators : 

So  from  the  high-raised  urn  the  torrents 
Spread  down  his  sides  their  various  currents : 
His  flowing  wig,  as  next  the  brim, 
First  met  and  drank  the  sable  stream ; 
Adown  his  visage  stern  and  grave 
Roll'd  and  adhered  the  viscid  wave; 


134    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

With  arms  depending  as  he  stood, 
Each  cuff  capacious  holds  the  flood: 
From  nose  and  chin's  remotest  end 
The  tarry  icicles  descend; 
Till,  all  o'erspread,  with  colors  gay, 
He  glittered  to  the  Western  ray 
Like  sleet-bound  trees  in  wintry  skies, 
Or  Lapland  idol  carved  in  ice. 
And  now  the  feather-bag  display'd 
Is  waved  in  triumph  o'er  his  head, 
And  clouds  him  o'er  with  feathers  missive 
And,  down  upon  the  tar  adhesive : 
Not  Maia's  son,  with  wings  for  ears, 
Such  plumage  round  his  visage  wears ; 
Not  Milton's  six-wing'd  angel  gathers 
Such  superfluity  of  feathers." 

There  is  more  wit  and  ease  in  the  second 
familiar  portion,  where  M'Fingal  makes  his 
recantation,  to  escape  from  the  taunts  of  the 
patriots : 

I  here  renounce  the  Pope,  the  Turks, 
The  King,  the  Devil  and  all  their  works; 
And  will,  set  me  but  once  again  at  ease, 
Turn  Whig  or  Christian,  what  you  please.1* 

This  satire,  as  a  whole,  may  be  censured  for 
many  offenses  against  literary  taste  and  many 
examples  of  strained  meter.  It  must  be  regarded, 
however,  not  as  a  finished  poem,  like  Butler's 
"Hudibras"  or  Churchill's  'The  Ghost,"  although 

"  M'Fingal,  Canto  III,  pp.  61,  62. 
u  Ibid.,  p.  59. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  135 

it  resembles  these  in  form.  It  was  a  hastily  writ 
ten  weapon  of  warfare.  Its  purpose  was  utilitar 
ian  and  its  effect  upon  the  contending  parties 
cannot  be  overstated.  It  represented  progressive 
patriotism  against  reactionary  fears.  Few  writ 
ings  of  that  day  reached  such  a  wide  circulation. 
It  was  reprinted  in  piratical  editions  until,  we 
are  told,  it  brought  about,  in  1783,  the  passage  of 
an  "Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Literature 
and  Genius,"  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Con 
necticut,  which  secured  to  authors  their  copy 
rights  within  the  state.33 

While  we  recognize  the  specific  aim  of  this 
burlesque  and  its  immediate  service  to  patriotism, 
we  still  find,  within  its  lines,  atmosphere  and 
silhouettes  of  characters  of  the  past  which  are 
well  worth  remembrance,  apart  from  its  purpose. 
Not  alone  external  pictures  of  the  times  are  here, 
but  also  a  clear  presentation  of  the  mental  pro 
cesses  of  Whig  and  Tory,  in  the  period  which  pre 
ceded  secession.  If  the  humor  is  broad  and  the 
words  often  uncouth,  such  were  the  traits  of  the 
classes  which  were  represented — the  sturdy,  un 
educated  farmers,  the  rude  soldiers,  the  black 
smiths,  storekeepers,  and  other  characters  of 
early  village  life  in  America. 

33  This  assertion  is  made  by  J.  Hammond  Trumbull  in 
The  Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County  (1886),  note  to  p. 
157,  Vol.  I. 


136    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Donald  G.  Mitchell  has  said,  with  unique 
appreciation  of  this  satire : 

It  has  a  sportive,  easy,  rollicking  flow.  There's  no 
dreaming  in  it ;  there's  no  swashy  sentiment ;  it  does  not 
stay  to  moralize;  it  goes  on  its  rhythmic  and  satiric  beat — 
as  steady  and  sure  and  effective  as  a  patent  threshing- 
machine.  For  an  American  it  should  make  more  piquant 
reading  than  Butler's  "Hudibras."*4 

Although  it  bore  such  a  close  resemblance  to 
"Hudibras"  that,  before  its  authorship  was  de 
termined,  some  couplets  were  confidently  asserted 
to  be  Butler's,  yet  it  has  a  strong  individuality. 
Regarding  the  method  of  writing,  Trumbull  ex 
plained,  in  a  letter  to  the  Marquis  de  Chastelleux : 

I  determined  to  describe  every  subject  in  the  manner 
it  struck  my  own  imagination,  and  without  confining 
myself  to  a  perpetual  effort  at  wit,  drollery  and  humour, 
indulge  every  variety  of  manner,  as  my  subject  varied, 
and  insert  all  ridicule,  satire,  sense,  sprightliness  and 
elevation,  of  which  I  was  master."* 

John  Trumbull  was  only  twenty-five  when  the 
best  part  of  M'Fingal  was  written,  and  he  lived 

14  D.  G.  Mitchell,  American  Lands  and  Letters,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
158,  159.  Mr.  Mitchell  recalls  the  popularity  of  this  burlesque 
in  the  days  of  his  boyhood. 

*J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  "The  Origin  of  M'Fingal," 
Historical  Magazine,  January,  1868.  "Time  has  a  little  blunted 
the  edge  of  McFingal,  yet  it  remains  the  best  of  American 
political  satires  in  verse,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
The  Biglow  Papers" — so  says  J.  Hammond  Trumbull  in  The 
Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County,  Vol.  I,  p.  158. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  137 

past  eighty  years;  yet  he  is  known  to  history  as 
the  author  of  that  satire.  The  later  events  of  his 
life  were  personal  in  the  main,  and  only  indirectly 
associated  with  political  history.  That  he  had  a 
prominent  part  in  the  writings  of  "the  Hartford 
wits,"  in  behalf  of  internal  harmony  and  federal 
ism,  will  be  indicated  in  the  next  chapter.  How 
ever,  this  service  was  done  in  collaboration,  and 
his  special  writings  have  only  been  partially  iden 
tified.  "The  Genius  of  America,"  an  ode  of  thir 
teen  stanzas,  written  in  1777  after  the  capture  of 
Burgoyne,  was  included  in  Trumbull's  Poetical 
Works,  but  it  has  slight  value  either  as  a  his 
torical  record  or  as  poetry.  His  earlier  fame, 
nevertheless,  clung  to  him  among  his  Connecticut 
friends,  and  he  was  generally  considered  the 
leader  of  the  patriot-wits  of  Hartford.  With  ex 
travagant  tribute,  Timothy  Dwight  testified  to 
this  leadership,  in  his  "Epistle  to  Col.  Humph 
reys,"  in  1785: 

Hence,  too,  when  Trumbull  leads  the  ardent  throng, 
Ascending  bards  begin  the  immortal  song: 
Let  glowing  friendship  wake  the  cheerful  lyre, 
Blest  to  commend,  and  pleas'd  to  catch  the  fire.86 

In  spite  of  such  excursions  into  literature, 
Trumbull's  mature  success  was  achieved  in  law. 
After  his  return  from  Boston  in  1776,  and  his 
marriage  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Leverett  Hub- 

** American  Poems,  Selected  and  Original  (1793),  p.  83. 


138    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

bard,  of  New  Haven,  he  practiced  law  in  New 
Haven  and  Waterbury.  The  next  few  years  must 
have  been  full  of  trial,  for  he  was  frequently  ill, 
largely  from  excess  of  nervous  activity.  In  1780 
he  was  considered  fatally  sick,  but  he  recovered 
and  moved  to  Hartford  for  his  future  home. 
Here  he  held  positions  of  honor.  He  was  attor 
ney  for  the  County  of  Hartford,  member  of  the 
state  legislature,  and,  in  1808,  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Errors  and  served 
until  1819. 

The  judicial  appointment  of  Trumbull  and  his 
highly-rated  literary  cleverness  aroused  some 
envy  among  the  less  fortunate  of  his  political 
opponents.  Evidence  of  this  is  found  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "Federalism  Triumphant  in  the 
Steady  Habits  of  Connecticut  Alone,  or,  the 
Turnpike  Road  to  a  Fortune."  This  was  called 
"A  Comic  Opera,  or  Political  Farce  in  Six  Acts, 
as  performed  at  the  Theatres  Royal  and  Aristo 
cratic  at  Hartford  and  New  Haven,  October, 
1801."  It  was  printed  the  next  year.  One  of  the 
leading  characters  is  "John  M'Fingal,  a  Poet, — 
late  Student  with  J.  Adams."  With  sarcasm, 
the  author  of  this  farce  depicts  Trumbull  seeking 
in  every  way  to  gain  influence  with  political  lead 
ers,  especially  with  "Jonathan,"  easily  recognized 
as  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull,  that  the  judi 
ciary  may  be  increased  and  his  place  secured.  In 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  139 

soliloquy,  he  is  represented  as  saying  (pp.  17,  18) 
"I  must  not  dip  my  pen,  until  I've  got  through 
that  judiciary  bill, — suppress  my  wit  &  satire  till 
that  bill  is  passed,  and  get  the  appointment,  and 
then  and  not  till  then  may  my  vein  of  humour  be 
indulged." 

A  note  supplies  the  somewhat  sneering  infor 
mation  that,  ''It's  universally  known  that  John 
Trumbull  wrote  M'Fingal  and  sundry  other 
poetic  pieces  of  merit,  obtained  a  law  for  a  patent, 
for  books,  maps,  charts,  etc.,  has  piddled  occa 
sionally  at  Hartford  in  the  New  Year  addresses 
of  the  boys  who  carries  (sic)  the  papers,  and  that 
when  elected  member  for  Hartford  he  assisted 
Noah  in  the  answer  to  Hamilton's  development 
of  Adams'  imbecility.  He  supposed  himself  cun 
ning  in  all  writings." 

This  reference  to  the  assistance  given  by 
Trumbull  to  Noah  Webster,  in  the  latter's  writ 
ing,  is  verified  by  a  statement  frequently  made 
that  Trumbull  was  of  great  value  to  Webster  in 
the  compilation  of  the  latter's  Dictionary.  These 
facts  and  reminiscences  have  been  given  by  Trum- 
bull's  grandson  (Mr.  Dudley  Bradstreet  Wood- 
bridge,  of  Groose  Pointe  Farms,  Michigan,  to 
whom  I  am  much  indebted).  Webster  and  Trum 
bull  were  good  friends  and  the  latter's  classical 
education  amazed  Webster,  so  he  called  upon  his 
friend  to  revise  almost  every  sheet  of  the  Diction- 


140    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

ary,  as  it  came  from  the  printer,  especially  relying 
upon  his  knowledge  of  derivations. 

Another  friend  of  Trumbull,  who  won  fame, 
was  Mrs.  Lydia  Huntley  Sigourney.  Trum- 
buH's  grandson  has  recalled  that  Mrs.  Sigourney 
was  the  daughter  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
who  lived  in  a  cottage  adjoining  Trumbull's 
estate.  The  little  girl,  Lydia,  interested  the 
judge  and  scholar,  and  he  taught  her  many 
things  from  nature  and  books:  "seeing  she 
had  a  natural  talent  for  poetry  he  bent  her 
mind  in  that  direction.  She  would  write  little 
rhymes  and  he  would  correct  them  for  her, 
and  point  out  all  the  errors,  until  she  became 
fascinated  with  the  writing  of  verse."  After  the 
death  of  Trumbull,  Mrs.  Sigourney  sent  to  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Woodbridge,  a  tribute  in  prose 
and  verse  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract, 
given  by  Mr.  Woodbridge:  the  poem  is  a  vision 
of  Trumbull  in  his  later  years  at  Detroit. 

"To  the  memory  of  the  Hon.  John  Trumbull, 
Author  of  M'Fingal,  and  other  poems;  a  native 
of  Connecticut:  who  died  at  Detroit,  Michigan: 
a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  who  was  no  less 
the  pride  of  his  native  State  than  of  his  Country; 
the  patriotic  bard,  who  having  left  among  his 
native  hills  the  thrilling  Harp  which  had  ani 
mated  every  camp,  and  enlivened  every  cottage, 
till  its  notes  resounded  across  the  Atlantic." 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  141 

This  was  he 

Whose  shaft  of  wit  had  touch'd  the  epic  strain 
With  poignant  power.     The  Father  of  the  Harp 
In  his  own  native  vales.     He  seems  to  muse 
As  if  those  loved  retreats  did  spread  themselves 
Again  before  his  eye.    The  sighing  wind 
Through  the  long  branches  of  those  ancient  trees 
When  first  his  boyhood  lisp'd  the  love  of  Song 
Doth  lull  his  soul.     There  brighter  visions  gleam, 
A  sound  of  music  rises.    'Tis  thy  voice  Connecticut 
As  when  by  vernal  rains 

Surcharged,  it  swells  in  tuneful  murmurs  round 
The  vine-clad  mansion  where  his  children  grew. 
But  the  hoarse  clangor  of  yon  mighty  Lakes 
Holding  high  conflict  with  the  winged  Storm 

Doth  quell  its  melody. 

And  is  it  so  . 

That  in  the  feebleness  of  four-score  years 
Thou  with  unshrinking  hand  didst  pitch  thy  tent 
Near  the  broad  billows  of  the  Michigan 
And  mark  in  that  far  land  young  life  start  forth 
In  beauty  and  in  vigor  and  in  power 
Where  erst  the  Indian,  and  the   Panther  dwelt 
Sole  lords.     It  was   a  bold  emprize 
To  change  the  robe  of  science  and  of  mistrelsy 
Worn   from  thy  cradle  onward 
For  the  staff  of  the  strong  emigrant. 

Master  and  friend;  until  this  feeble  lyre 
In  silence  moulders,  till  my  heart  forgets 
The  thrill  of  gratitude,  the  love  of  song, 
The  praise  of  knowledge,  shall  thine  image  dwell 
Bright  with  the  beauty  of  benignant  age 
In   my   soul's    temple-shrine! 


142    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

In  spite  of  his  vivacity  and  power  of  accom 
plishment,  Trumbull  was  compelled  to  do  his 
work  with  ill-health  constantly  against  him.  He 
visited  mineral  springs  and  gained  temporary 
relief.  After  such  respite  from  suffering  he 
would  work  with  marvelous  energy,  and  thus 
compensate  for  lost  time.  Among  the  manu 
script  letters  in  the  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  papers, 
at  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  is  one  from 
Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins  to  Wolcott,  written  in 
June,  1795,  which  contains  an  interesting  refer 
ence  to  Trumbull  and  his  physical  condition  :37 

Trumbull  will,  I  fear,  within  a  year  or  two,  quit  "the 
visible  diurnal  sphere."  What,  then,  O  Hartford,  hast 
thou  for  me?  Pleasant  indeed  shalt  thou  remain,  but 
chiefly  for  the  joys  that  are  past. 

Another  letter,  in  the  same  collection,  from 
Trumbull  to  Wolcott,  has  been  printed,  but,  as 
it  is  one  of  the  few  extant  letters  by  Trumbull,  it 
is  valuable  as  a  revelation  of  his  personality.38 
Under  date  of  December  9,  1789,  from  Hartford, 
Trumbull  wrote : 

"  Dr.  Hopkins  was  one  of  the  collaborators  with  Trumbull 
and  his  friends,  mentioned  in  the  next  chapter.  The  date  of 
this  letter  was  June  28,  1795.  It  is  printed  by  permission 
of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society. 

**  Printed  in  Memoirs  of  the  Administrations  of  Wash 
ington  and  John  Adams,  Edited  from  the  Papers  of  Oliver 
Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  (1840),  Vol.  I,  pp.  25,  26. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  143 

I  received  yours  by  Dr.  Coggswell,  who  appears  a  sen 
sible,  agreeable  young  man,  &  I  am  glad  that  he  pro 
poses  to  settle  in  Hartford.  Indeed  our  circle  of  friends 
wants  new  recruits.  Humphreys,  Barlow  and  you  are  lost 
to  us. — Dr  Hopkins  has  an  itch  of  running  away  to  New 
York,  but  I  trust  his  indolence  will  prevent  him.  How 
ever,  if  you  should  catch  him  in  your  City,  I  desire  you 
to  take  him  up  &  return  him  or  secure  him  so  that  we 
may  have  him  again,  for  which  you  shall  have  sixpence 
reward,  &  all  charges 

I  cannot  conceive  what  Barlow  is  doing — After  being 
eighteen  months  abroad,  you  tell  me  he  has  got  so  far  as  to 
see  favorable  prospects.  If  he  should  not  affect  some 
thing  to  the  purpose  soon,  I  would  advise  him  to  write 
"The  Vision  of  Barlow,"  as  a  sequel  to  those  of  Columbus 
and  M'Fingal. 

When  TVumbull  was  seventy-five  years  old, 
and  had  survived  nearly  all  of  his  associates  in 
Connecticut,  he  left  Hartford  to  spend  his  last 
years  in  Detroit,  which  then  seemed  on  the  bor 
derland  of  the  far  West.  Here  he  lived  with  his 
daughter,  Mrs  William  Woodbridge,  until  his 
death  in  1831.  This  experience  gave  him  an 
opportunity  to  realize  the  growth  of  the  nation 
which  he  had  served  in  its  infancy,  and  he  re 
joiced  in  all  marks  of  progress.  When  he  passed 
through  New  York,  on  his  way  to  Detroit,  a 
banquet  was  given  in  his  honor  by  lawyers  and 
men  of  letters.  At  the  same  time  his  poems,  in 
two  volumes,  were  printed  by  his  friend,  S.  G. 
Goodrich,  better  known  to  his  own  day  as  "Peter 


144    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Parley."  In  his  Recollections  of  a  Lifetime,  Mr. 
Goodrich  thus  commented  upon  this  publication: 
About  this  time  I  published  an  edition  of  Trumbull's 
poems,  in  two  volumes  octavo,  and  paid  him  a  thousand 
dollars  and  a  hundred  copies  of  the  work  for  the  copy 
right.  I  was  seriously  counselled  against  this  by  several 
book-sellers — in  fact,  Trumbull  had  sought  a  publisher  in 
vain,  for  several  years  previous.  There  was  an  associa 
tion  of  designers  and  engravers  at  Hartford,  called  the 
Graphic  Company,  and  as  I  desired  to  patronize  the  liberal 
arts  there,  I  employed  them  to  execute  the  embellish 
ments.  For  so  considerable  an  enterprise  I  took  the  pre 
caution  to  get  a  subscription,  in  which  I  was  tolerably 
successful.  The  work  was  at  last  produced,  but  it  did 
not  come  up  to  the  public  expectation,  or  the  patriotic 
zeal  had  cooled,  and  more  than  half  the  subscribers  de 
clined  taking  the  work.  I  did  not  press  it,*  but  putting  a 
good  face  upon  the  affair,  I  let  it  pass  and — while  the 
public  supposed  I  had  made  money  by  my  enterprise, 
and  even  the  author  looked  askance  at  me  in  the  jeal 
ous  apprehension  that  I  had  made  too  good  a  bargain 
out  of  him — I  quietly  pocketed  a  loss  of  about  a  thou 
sand  dollars.** 

We  must  make  some  allowance  for  the  usual 
exploitation  of  his  own  merits  by  " Peter  Parley." 
He  was,  however,  a  good  friend  to  the  satirist 
and  would-be  poet,  Trumbull,  who  sought  vainly 
(after  his  young  manhood)  for  literary  success. 
The  general  influence  of  Trumbull,  among  his 
friends  of  patriotic  impulses  and  literary  tastes, 
must  be  admitted  as  his  greatest  claim  to  recog- 

*  Recollections  of  a  Lifetime,  Vol.  II,  pp.  in,  112. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL  145 

nition,  beyond  the  success  which  he  won  as  author 
of  a  single  clever  burlesque.  The  face  of  this 
writer  and  judge  was  painted  from  life  by  his 
kinsman,  John  Trumbull.  In  accord  with  the 
features  there  seen,  and  the  traits  suggested,  is 
this  description  of  him  given  by  Mr.  Goodrich : 

His  features  were  finely  cut,  and  he  must  have  been 
handsome  in  his  younger  days.  His  eye  was  keen  and 
bright,  his  nose  slightly  aquiline,  his  mouth  arching  down 
wards  at  the  corners,  expressive  of  sarcastic  humor.  There 
was  something  about  him  that  at  once  bespoke  the  man 
of  letters,  the  poet,  and  the  satirist.40 

40  Ibid.,  pp.   114,    115. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS 


V 
A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS 

Classification  is  a  common  substitute  for  liter 
ary  criticism.  Often  a  relative  convenience,  it 
has  sometimes  only  obscured  the  distinct  traits 
of  an  author.  Occasionally  an  individual  daunts 
the  cataloguer  and  stands  in  comparative  isolation 
— like  Dante,  Carlyle,  Thoreau,  or  Tolstoy. 
Classification  is  often  based  upon  the  governing 
motif  of  the  writers — as  the  "Transcenden- 
talists,"  the  "Pre-Raphaelites,"  and  the  "Deca 
dents."  The  more  common  allotment  is  by  eras 
and  localities;  the  "Augustan  age,"  the  "Eliza 
beth  dramatists,"  the  "Victorian  novelists,"  are 
phrases  as  familiar  as  the  "Oxford  Movement," 
the  "Lake  Poets,"  the  "Knickerbocker  Group," 
or  the  "Hartford  Wits." 

After  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
center  of  literary  activity  in  America  was  trans 
ferred  from  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  where  it  had 
been  for  many  years  inspired  by  Harvard  Col 
lege,  to  the  environment  of  the  younger  colleges, 
Nassau  Hall,  or  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  which 
later  became  Princeton,  and  the  College  of  Phila 
delphia,  which  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Pennsylvania.  Graduates  of  these 

149 


150    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

institutions  became  progressive  leaders  in  political 
and  literary  zeal.  At  Yale  College,  also,  victory 
for  modern  educational  methods  had  been  gained, 
at  about  the  same  time  that  the  first  notes  were 
sounded  against  British  tyranny  and  in  behalf  of 
independence.  John  Trumbull  was  the  leader 
among  the  Connecticut  reformers  and  satirists, 
but  his  life  reflected  his  association  with  a  few 
companions,  often  called  the  "Hartford  Wits." 
While  the  burlesques  and  satires  that  gave  fame 
to  Trumbull  were  written  during  the  early  years 
of  the  war,  many  of  his  later  efforts  in  satire  and 
reform  were  in  collaboration  with  some  patriot- 
comrades  who  realized  the  dangers  which  im 
periled  the  new  nation. 

Although  independence  had  been  won,  anarchy 
was  menacing;  government,  finance,  and  com 
merce  were  unstable.  Such  affairs  formed  sub 
jects  for  grave  discussion,  varied  by  witty  verse, 
at  the  gatherings  of  a  "Friendly  Club"  in  Hart 
ford.  Among  the  nine  names  mentioned  of  those 
who  formed  the  original  membership  of  this  club, 
there  is  a  major  and  a  minor  list:  familiar  to 
our  ears  are  the  names  of  John  Trumbull, 
Timothy  Dwight,  Joel  Barlow,  and  David 
Humphreys ;  seldom  recalled  are  their  associates, 
Theodore  Dwight,  Richard  Alsop,  and  the  three 
physicians,  Elihu  Smith,  Mason  Cogswell,  and 
Lemuel  Hopkins.  Other  men,  possibly  allied 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  151 

with  this  coterie,  were  Congressman  Uriah 
Tracey,  Judge  Tappan  Reeve,  and  Zephaniah 
Smith.1  The  series  of  publications  assigned  to 
this  first  group  of  wits  dated  from  1785  to  1807. 
Seventy-five  years  seems  to  us  an  incredibly 
long  period  to  elapse  between  the  appearance  of 
some  literary  work  in  a  journal  and  its  first  pub 
lication  in  book-form.  On  the  title-page  of  The 
Anarchiad,  dated  1861,  is  this  editor's  note, 
"Now  first  published  in  book  form."  Research 
shows  that  the  twelve  satiric  papers  constituting 
The  Anarchiad  were  printed  first  in  the  New 
Haven  Gazette,  beginning  October  26,  1786,  and 
continuing,  at  intervals,  until  September  13,  1787. 
They  were  copied  in  Federalist  journals  through 
out  many  of  the  states  of  the  Union.  In  this 
first,  belated  edition  of  The  Anarchiad,  its 
editor,  Luther  G.  Riggs,  expresses  an  assurance 
"that  he  is  in  performance  of  a  duty — that  he 
becomes,  as  it  were,  an  instrument  of  justice,  a 
justice  delayed  for  more  than  half  a  century,  to 
the  genius  and  loyalty  of  its  authors,  who  were 

1  At  the  library  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  in 
Hartford  are  several  unique  pamphlets,  generally  assigned  to 
a  later  group  of  "Hartford  wits,"  between  1819  and  1830. 
This  group  is  probably  the  same  mentioned  by  Goodrich  in 
Recollections  of  a  Lifetime,  Vol.  I,  pp.  92-98.  The  same 
phrase,  "Hartford  wits,"  has  been  passed  on  to  another 
group,  of  our  own  day,  "Mark  Twain,"  Charles  Dudley  War 
ner,  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Twitchell. 


152     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

among  the  noblest  and  most  talented  sons  of  the 
Revolution."  We  would  exchange  his  term 
"genius"  for  "wit,"  but  we  cannot  question  the 
quality  of  patriotism  and  the  influence  of  these 
satires  in  subduing  threatened  anarchy,  and  in 
arousing  higher  ideals  during  the  crucial  years 
after  the  war,  while  feeling  was  strong  regarding 
the  Constitution  and  the  basis  of  political  and 
financial  security. 

The  name,  borrowed  from  Miltonic  Anarch, 
suggested  the  purpose,  which  was  further  ex 
plained  in  the  sub-title,  "A  Poem  on  the  Resto 
ration  of  Chaos  and  Substantial  Night."  The 
wits  wished  to  show,  with  forceful  satire,  the 
warfare  waged  against  the  stability  of  the  new 
nation  by  the  promoters  of  local  rebellion,  paper 
money,  and  selfish  greed.  Although  the  papers 
were  sent  unsigned  to  the  newspaper,  and  the 
various  portions  have  never  been  perfectly 
identified,  the  series  was  undoubtedly  the  work 
of  four  men  who  had  shown  earlier  evidence  of 
their  patriotism  either  by  service  in  the  army 
or  by  their  writings — John  Trumbull,  David 
Humphreys,  Joel  Barlow,  and  Dr.  Lemuel  Hop 
kins. 

To  Colonel  Humphreys  belonged  the  credit 
for  suggesting  this  unique  literary  plan.  While 
abroad,  serving  on  the  commission  for  treaties 
with  foreign  powers,  he  had  shared  in  the  popu- 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  153 

lar  curiosity  over  an  anonymous  English  satire, 
The  Rolliad.  Returning  to  America,  he  saw  with 
dismay  the  signs  of  insurrection  in  Shay's  Re 
bellion  and  other  dangers.  He  suggested  the  use 
of  satire  in  verse,  akin  to  the  form  of  The 
Rolliad  and  Pope's  The  Dunciad,  to  arouse  public 
curiosity  and  also  to  teach  lessons  of  patriotism. 

The  prose  ''Introduction"  to  the  first  paper 
mystified  the  readers  and  entertained  them.  It  is 
an  interesting  commentary  upon  the  credulity 
and  emotional  ferment  of  the  period.  The  sup 
posed  archaeologist  thus  addressed  the  publishers 
of  the  New  Haven  Gazette: 

I  have  the  felicity  to  belong  to  a  society  of  critics  and 
antiquarians,  who  have  made  it  their  business  and  delight 
for  some  years  past,  to  investigate  the  ancient  as  well  as 
natural  history  of  America.  The  success  of  their  re 
searches  in  such  an  unlimited  field,  pregnant  with  such 
wonderful  and  inexhaustible  materials,  has  been  equal 
to  their  most  sanguine  expectations.  One  of  our  worthy 
associates  has  favored  the  public  with  a  minute  and  ac 
curate  description  of  the  monstrous,  new-invented  animal 
which  had,  till  its  elaborate  lucubration,  escaped  the 

notice  of  every  zoologist Others  have  spared  no 

pains  to  feast  the  public  curiosity  with  an  ample  supply  of 
great  bones  from  the  Wabash,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
quench  the  thirst  for  novelty  from  the  burning  spring  on 
the  Ohio. 

It  has  happily  fallen  to  my  lot  to  communicate 
through  the  medium  of  your  paper,  a  recent  discovery  still 
more  valuable  to  the  republic  of  letters.  I  need  scarcely 


1 54    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

premise  that  the  ruins  of  fortifications  yet  visible,  and 
other  vestiges  of  art,  in  the  west  country,  had  sufficiently 
demonstrated  that  this  delightful  region  had  once  been 
occupied  by  a  civilized  people.  Had  not  this  hypothesis 
been  previously  established,  the  fact  I  am  about  to  relate 
would  have  placed  it  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt.  For 
upon  digging  into  the  ruins  of  one  of  the  most  consider 
able  of  these  fortifications,  the  labourers  were  surprised 
to  find  a  casement,  a  magazine,  and  a  cistern  almost  en 
tire.  Pursuing  their  subterranean  progress,  near  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  bastion,  they  found  a  great 
number  of  utensils,  more  curious  and  elegant  than  those 
of  Palmyra  and  Herculaneum.  But  what  rendered  their 
good  fortune  complete,  was  the  discovery  of  a  great  num 
ber  of  papers,  manuscripts,  etc.,  whose  preservation, 
through  such  a  lapse  of  years,  amid  such  marks  of  hos 
tility  and  devastation,  must  be  deemed  marvellous  in 
deed,  perhaps  little  short  of  miraculous.  This  affords  a 
reflection,  that  such  extraordinary  circumstances  could 
scarcely  have  taken  place  to  answer  only  vulgar  purposes. 
Happening  myself  to  come  upon  the  spot,  immediately 
after  this  treasure  had  been  discovered,  I  was  permitted 
to  take  possession  of  it,  in  the  name  and  for  the  use  of 
our  society.  Amongst  these  relics  of  antiquity,  I  was 
rejoiced  to  find  a  folio  manuscript  which  appeared  to 
contain  an  epic  poem,  complete;  and,  as  I  am  passionately 
fond  of  poetry,  ancient  as  well  modern,  I  set  myself  in 
stantly  to  cleanse  it  from  the  extraneous  concretions  with 
which  it  was  in  some  parts  enveloped,  defaced  and  rend 
ered  illegible.  By  means  of  a  chemic  preparation,  which 
is  made  use  of  for  restoring  oil  paintings,  I  soon  ac 
complished  the  desirable  object.  It  was  then  I  found  it 
was  called  "The  Anarchiad,  A  Poem  on  the  Restoration 
of  Chaos  and  Substantial  Night,"  in  twenty-four  books. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS     155 

While  public  curiosity  was  thus  assailed,  the 
second,  and  ulterior,  motive  of  patriotism  was 
emphasized  by  some  interwoven  verses.  Choos 
ing  Shay's  Rebellion  as  a  pivotal  example  of 
anarchy,  the  vision  of  its  "mob-compelling,"  de 
structive  course  was  outlined  by  the  supposed 
prophet : 

Thy   constitution,   Chaos,  is   restor'd, 

Law  sinks  before  thy  uncreating  word; 

Thy  hand  unbars  th'  unfathomed  gulf  of  fate, 

And  deep  in  darkness  whelms  the  new-born  state.8 

In  addition  to  the  insurrections  against  mar 
tial  laws  and  state  organizations,  there  was 
another  lurking  evil,  especially  in  New  England 
— the  futile  paper  money,  and  the  consequent 
depreciation  and  instability  of  all  industries. 
Rhode  Island  was  suffering  much  from  this 
cause,  and  seemed  to  be  in  the  power  of  wary, 
selfish  schemers.  In  the  second  and  third  num 
bers  of  "American  Antiquities,"  as  the  Anarchiad 
series  was  called,  mock-heroics  in  verse  were 
mingled  with  serious  advice,  in  prose,  from 
Connecticut  to  her  oppressed  neighbor  state. 
With  direct  truth  it  was  asserted : 

For  it  will  scarcely  be  denied  in  any  part  of  the 
United  States,  that  paper  money,  in  an  unfunded  and 
depreciating  condition,  is  happily  calculated  to  introduce 
the  long-expected  scenes  of  misrule,  dishonesty,  and  per 
dition. 

2  The  Anarchiad  k(New  Haven,  1861),  p.  6. 


156    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  fourth  and  fifth  papers  in  the  series  ap 
pealed  for  a  revival  of  national  pride  and  prog 
ress.  Hesper,  the  promise  of  Dawn,  confronts 
Anarch,  god  of  Night,  and  by  the  contention 
seeks  to  arouse  loyalty  among  the  people: 

Teach  ere  too  late,  their  blood-bought  rights  to  prize, 
Bid  other  Greenes  and  Washingtons  arise ! 
Teach  those  who  suffer'd   for  their  country's  good, 
Who  strove  for  freedom  and  who  toil'd  in  blood, 
Once  more  in  arms  to  make  the  glorious  stand; 
And  bravely  die  or  save  their  natal  land !  * 

In  the  fifth  article  of  the  series  was  an  ode, 
"Genius  of  America" — a  favorite  title  of  the  day. 
In  offering  it,  the  authors  expressed  a  hope  that, 
"should  the  taste  of  their  countrymen  in  general 
be  uncorrupted,  as  they  flatter  themselves  it  is, 
they  expect  this  song  will  be  introduced  into  most 
of  the  polite  circles  of  the  United  States."  The 
author  of  this  ode  was  Humphreys;  for  it  was 
included  later  among  his  poems.  He  must  have 
rejoiced — for  he  sought  appreciation — when 
the  song  was  "introduced"  and  reprinted.  Sung 
to  the  tune  of  "The  watery  god,  great  Neptune, 
lay,"  it  won  much  popularity ;  but  in  thought  and 
meter  it  ranks  among  the  most  inferior  portions 
of  The  Anarc hiad.  A  single  stanza  will  indicate 
both  form  and  theme — the  dangers  which  threat 
ened  to  destroy  America's  glory : 

1  Loc.  cif.,  p.  13. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS     157 

Shall  steed  to  steed,  and  man  to  man, 
With  discord  thundering  in  the  van, 

Again   destroy  the  bliss! 
Enough  my  mystic  words  reveal; 
The  rest  the  shades  of  night  conceal, 

In  fate's  profound  abyss  !  * 

The  dialogue  between  Anarch  and  his  pupil 
Wrongheads,  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  portions, 
extorted  a  confession  from  the  demagogue  that 
his  aim  was  selfish  greed,  and  the  enemies  whom 
he  most  feared  were  the  friends  of  law,  justice, 
and  education. 

One  of  the  objects  of  special  censure  by  the 
Democrats,  who  feared  the  tendencies  toward 
monarchy  and  militarism,  was  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati.  In  eastern  Connecticut  there  lived 
William  Williams,  a  prominent  lawyer,  who 
had  ventured  to  question  the  wisdom  of  continu 
ing  the  Cincinnati  as  a  banded  society.  Wil 
liams  was  a  fine  scholar,  and  had  proved  himself 
a  staunch  patriot  during  the  war,  by  giving 
lavishly  of  his  money  and  service  in  town  offices. 
Later  he  became  judge  of  Windham  County,  and 
married  the  daughter  of  Governor  Trumbull. 
His  criticisms  of  the  Cincinnati,  however,  had 
aroused  Barlow  and  Humphreys,  who  were 
prominent  among  its  members  and  orators,  and 
they  found  an  opportunity  to  retaliate.  In  April, 

'Ibid.,  pp.  26-28. 


1 58    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

1786,  Williams  was  a  candidate  for  election,  as 
a  Democrat,  to  the  State  Assembly.  To  Joseph 
Hopkins  he  sent  a  letter  and  an  "Address,"  urg 
ing  his  friend  to  guard  carefully  the  contents  of 
the  letter  until  the  right  time  for  use.  In  trans 
mission  the  letter  was  lost — or  purloined — and 
was  published  soon  after.  The  result  was  the 
so-called  "Wimble  War,"  which  was  waged  in 
the  Connecticut  Courant  during  the  autumn  of 
I786.B 

This  intercepted  letter,  and  its  author,  fur 
nished  material  for  a  caustic  burlesque  in  the 
eighth  number  of  the  "American  Antiquities." 
The  newspaper  stanzas  of  lampoon  letters  by 
"William  Wimble"  and  "Joseph  Copper,"  sug 
gest  to  us  the  wit  of  Trumbull : 

Hoping  to  see  you  in  October, 
With  face  full  long,  and  cant  full  sober; 
So  pray  be  cautious,  sly  and  nimble, 
Your  loving  servant,  William  Wimble.6 

After  this  personal  digression,  the  authors  of 
The  Anarc Jiiad  returned  to  more  general  themes 
and  uttered  a  strong  plea  for  federalism.  With 
biting  sarcasm,  they  decried  Congress,  indiffer- 

8  In  idea  and  form  these  papers  of  retort  were  modeled 
somewhat  after  the  "Wimble  Papers"  in  the  Spectator. 

'The  Anarchiad,  Appendix,  p.  109.  First  in  the  Con 
necticut  Courant,  October  9,  1786. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  159 

ent  to  "Hamilton's  unshaken  soul"  and  his  wise 

counsel : 

My  band  of  mutes,  in  dire  confusion  throng, 
Convinc'd  of  right,  yet  obstinate  in  wrong.7 

"The  Speech  of  Hesper  to  the  Sages  and 
Counsellors  at  Philadelphia"  was  probably  the 
work  of  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins.  With  details  of 
sufferings  and  scars,  he  recounted  the  grief  of  the 
war  veterans  because  of  political  inertia  and 
anarchical  tendencies.  The  last  stanzas  made  a 
strong  appeal  for  a  centralized  government : 

But  know,  ye  favor'd  race,  one  potent  head 

Must  rule  your  States,  and  strike  your  foes  with  dread, 

The  finance  regulate,  the  trade  control, 

Live  through  the  empire,  and  accord  the  whole. 

Ere  death  invades,  and  night's  deep  curtain  falls, 

Through  ruined  realms  the  voice  of  UNION  calls; 

On  you  she  calls !     Attend  the  warning  cry : 

YE  LIVE  UNITED,   OR  DIVIDED   DIE! 

The  last  two  numbers  of  this  strange,  in 
choate  "epic"  represented  a  journey  through 
"The  Land  of  Annihilation"  and  "The  Region 
of  Preexistent  Spirits."  Various  critics  of  the 
new  nation  and  its  poets  mingled  here  with 
enemies  of  national  unity.  Notable  among  the 
critics  chosen  for  special  mention  were  Raynal, 
Mirabeau,  and  Robertson.  Abbe  Raynal's  open 

7  Ibid.,  p.  53.  See  also  J.  C.  Hamilton,  History  of  the  Re 
public  as  Traced  in  the  Writings  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  etc. 
(1859),  Vol.  Ill,  p.  228. 


160    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

denial  that  ''America  had  produced  a  Man  of 
Genius  in  one  single  Art  or  one  single  Science" 
seemed  anathema  to  these  versifiers,  who  consid 
ered  each  other  men  of  genius.  They  poured 
forth  their  wrath  also  against  fictitious  narratives 
about  America  by  foreign  writers,  especially  the 
false  and  maligning  stories  of  Washington's 
amours,  as  told  by  D'Auberteul.  Perhaps  it  was 
Humphreys  who  hurled  that  last  shaft  of  in 
vective,  to  redeem  the  honor  of  his  commander : 

In  wit's  light  robe  shall  gaudy  fiction  shine, 
And  all  be  lies,  as  in  a  work  of  thine.* 

The  Ana  re  hiad  was  essentially  a  literary  curi 
osity,  although  it  had  immediate  influence  upon 
the  policies  of  Connecticut  and  more  distant 
states.  It  is  uneven  in  merit,  and  often  anti- 
climactic.  Probably  it  was  written  without  any 
perfected  plan,  or  expectation  of  publication  in 
sequential  form;  later  numbers  were  intended  by 
the  authors,  if  circumstances  should  call  them 
forth.  The  series  corresponded  to  the  more 
didactic  and  aggressive  columns  of  arguments  in 
behalf  of  federalism  which  were  contributed  at 
the  same  time  to  newspapers  in  Massachusetts, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  states  where 
there  was  contest  over  the  adoption  of  the  new 

*The  Anarchiad,  p.  82.  The  Revolution  of  America,  by 
the  Abbe  Raynal,  Salem,  MDCCLXXXII.  History  of 
America,  by  William  Robertson,  D.D.,  Dublin,  1777.  New 
York,  1798. 


•putun(i  A({ 
uqof  M\  pojuiud  II 


o  putt  'isj 

u  uaoaj     -joqjnB  puB  a8pnf 

XHOf 


Title-page  of  The  Echo  (1807);    from  copy  in  Connecticut 
Historical^Society  Library. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  161 

Constitution,  in  place  of  the  old  Articles  of  Con 
federation. 


The  Echo  was,  in  a  way,  a  continuation  of 
these  satiric  papers,  although  the  members  of  the 
Hartford  coterie  had  changed  somewhat,  and  the 
subjects  chosen  for  ridicule  or  remonstrance  were 
more  varied.  The  Echo  had  less  significance 
in  the  politico-literary  history  of  the  age,  yet 
here  were  satires  of  strong  feeling  directed 
against  political  evils,  and  lampoons  upon  demo 
cratic  publications.  A  secondary  motive  of  the 
writers  was  to  caricature  the  excesses  of  literary 
style  found  in  many  publications  of  the  time.  Of 
the  group  who  had  written  The  Anarchiad  in 
collaboration,  Humphreys  and  Barlow  were 
abroad  when  The  Echo  series  appeared,  and 
Trumbull's  part  has  been  questioned.  Dr. 
Lemuel  Hopkins,  alone  of  the  earlier  coterie,  was 
assuredly  a  contributor  to  the  later  series.  Asso 
ciated  with  him  were  Theodore  Dwight,  Richard 
Alsop,  Dr.  Elihu  Smith,  and  Dr.  Mason  Cogswell. 

That  Trumbull  had  a  vital  interest  in  these 
papers  written  by  his  friends,  and  was  informed 
regarding  many  matters  there  suggested,  is  shown 
by  a  copy  of  The  Echo  which  belonged  to  him 
and  bears  his  name,  to  be  found  now  at  the  Con 
necticut  Historical  Society.  His  notes,  in  ink, 
assist  one  in  deciding  the  authorship  of  certain 


162     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

portions.  In  the  preface  to  the  collected  papers 
the  explanation  was  given  that  the  idea  of  these 
word-cartoons  came 

of  a  moment  of  literary  sportiveness  at  a  time  when  ped 
antry,  affectation  and  bombast  pervaded  most  of  the 
pieces  published  in  the  gazettes,  ....  thus  to  check  the 
progress  of  false  taste  in  American  literature,  the  authors 
conceived  that  ridicule  would  prove  a  powerful  corrective, 
and  that  the  mode  employed  in  The  Echo  was  the  best 
suited  to  this  purpose. 

The  political  evils  were  also  emphasized  and  the 
plan  of  the  authors  to  scathe  and  correct 

that  hideous  morality  of  revolutionary  madness,  which 
levelled  the  boundaries  of  virtue  and  vice,  ....  that  de 
structive  torrent  which  threatened  to  overwhelm  everything 
good  and  estimable  in  private  life,  everything  venerable 
and  excellent  in  political  society." 

The  first  "Echo"  appeared  August  8,  1791,  in 
the  American  Mercury — a  weekly  newspaper 
started  in  1784  by  Joel  Barlow  and  Elisha  Bab- 
cock.  It  was  a  parody  upon  a  florid  report  in  a 
Boston  newspaper.  The  latter,  in  recording  a 
thunderstorm,  had  used  such  language  as  this: 
"uncorking  the  bottles  of  Heaven,  revealing  livid 
flame,  disploding  thunders,  amid  the  brilliance 

•  The  Echo,  with  Other  Poems.  Printed  at  the  Porcupine 
Press  by  Pasquin  Petronius  (New  York,  1807  ;  8vo).  The 
droll  illustrations  were  conceived  by  Elkanah  Tisdale,  a  face 
tious  miniature-painter.  The  book  was  really  issued  by  Isaac 
Riley,  brother-in-law  of  Theodore  Dwight  and  Alsop.  (Good 
rich,  Recollections  of  a  Lifetime,  Vol.  II,  p.  109,  note.) 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  163 

of  this  irradiated  arch!"    The  wits  thus  parodied 

the  prose  : 

Even  the  last  drop  of  hope,  which  dripping  skies, 
Gave  for  a  moment  to  our  straining  eyes, 
Like  Boston  Rum,  from  heaven's  junk  bottles  broke, 
Lost  all  the  corks  and  vanished  into  smoke. 

The  sons  of  Boston,  the  elect  of  Heaven, 
Presented  Mercy's  Angel,  smiling  fair, 
Irradiate  splendors  frizzled  in  his  hair, 
Uncorking  demi-johns,  and  pouring  down 
Heaven's  liquid  blessings  on  the  gaping  town. 

The  ornate  phrases  of  Hugh  Henry  Bracken- 
ridge  and  Governor  John  Hancock,  John  Adams, 
striving  to  please  both  aristocrats  and  democrats, 
certain  demagogues  of  Jacobin  type,  a  Phila 
delphia  "Mirabeau"  who  ventured  to  attack  the 
politics  and  literary  abilities  of  the  Hartford 
group — such  were  some  of  the  individuals 
singled  out  for  special  ridicule  by  the  authors 
of  The  Echo.  Many  of  the  numbers  appeared 
first  in  the  American  Mercury,  and  were  reprinted 
in  other  newspapers,  from  1791  to  1800.  In  the 
years  that  intervened  before  they  were  collected 
and  published  in  book- form,  in  1807,  some 
of  them  appeared  as  broadsides  or  pamphlets, 
generally  soon  after  they  were  written.  Often 
the  papers  were  intended  as  New  Year's  verses. 

One  of  the  most  representative  of  the  satires, 
which  won  popular  reading  among  the  Federalists  t 


1 64    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

and  was  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  was  by  Dr. 
Hopkins,  "The  Democratiad :  A  Poem  in  Retalia 
tion,  for  the  Philadelphia  Jockey  Club.  By  a 
Gentleman  of  Connecticut.  1795."  This  passed 
into  at  least  two  editions;  it  is  No.  XVIII 
in  The  Echo.  The  Philadelphia  Jockey  Club™ 
the  publication  which  had  roused  the  wrath  of 
the  Wits,  gave  the  example  of  the  Hartford  writ 
ers  and  William  Cobbett,  or  "Peter  Porcupine/' 
whom  they  echoed,  as  an  excuse  for  its 
attacks  upon  individuals  of  prominence  among 
Federalists.  Thus,  the  Philadelphia  satirists  de 
clared  their  course  of  personal  attack  was 
"authorized  by  the  precedent  of  the  infamous 
PETER  PORCUPINE  and  the  literary  out-law 
Snub,  whose  political  squabbles  have  involved 
the  characters  of  many  respectables."  In  his 
answering  satire,  Hopkins  attacked  the  Demo 
crats  and  Jacobins,  leveling  his  shafts  of  abuse 
especially  against  Benjamin  Franklin  Bache,  the 
editor  of  the  Aurora,  and  a  grandson  of 
Franklin : 

Thou  great  descendant  of  that  wondrous  man, 
Whose  genius  wild  through  all  creation  ran — 
That  man  who  walk'd  the  world  of  science  o'er, 
From  ink  and  types  to  where  the  thunders  roar, — 
To  thee,  friend  Bache,  these  lines  I  now  address, 

10  The  Philadelphia  Jockey  Club;  or  Mercantile  Influence 
Weighed  consisting  of  Select  Characters  taken  from  the 
Club  of  Addressers.  By  Timothy  Tickler,  7795.  Philadelphia. 
Printed  for  the  Purchasers.  (16  pages.) 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  165 

Prepar'd  on  purpose  for  thy  hallow'd  press, 
I've  pick'd  thee  out  because  I  highly  prize, 
Thy  grandsire's  memory  and  thy  knack  at  lies.11 

After  further  invective  against  the  leaders  of 
the  Jacobinical  faction,  the  author  said  in  apos 
trophe  to  Washington : 

ILLUSTRIOUS  MAN!   thy  indignation  shew, 
And  plunge  them  headlong  where  they  ought  to  go, 
Then  turn  thine  eye,  this  mighty  realm  survey, 
See  Federal  Virtue  bless  thy  glorious  sway. 

The  next  year  Dr.  Hopkins  was  again  chosen 
to  write  the  New  Year's  verses  in  The  Echo 
series, — "The  Guillotina;  or,  A  Democratic 
Dirge:  A  Poem.  By  the  Author  of  Demo- 
cratiad."  They  first  appeared  in  the  Connecticut 
Courant,  January  i,  1796,  and  were  afterward 
published  as  a  pamphlet,  possibly  also  as  a  broad 
side.12  The  bald  witticisms  are  recognized  as 
those  of  Hopkins,  as  in  the  stanza : 

Come  sing  again !  since  Ninety-Five, 

Has  left  some  Antis  still  alive, 

Some  Jacobins  as  pert  as  ever, 

Tho'  much  was  hoped  from  Yellow-fever. 

n  Copies  of  The  Philadelphia  Jockey  Club  and  The  Demo- 
cratiad  are  in  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  the  Histori 
cal  Societies  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Library 
of  Congress.  Both  were  issued  in  Philadelphia. 

12  Another  "Guillotina  for  1797"  was  issued  as  a  broad 
side  (Hudson  &  Goodwin,  Hartford).  It  is  unsigned  and  was 
not  printed  in  The  Echo. 


166    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"The  Political  Green-House  for  1798"  was 
another  widely  quoted  composition  by  this  group. 
According  to  the  record  by  Trumbull,  in  his  copy 
of  The  Echo,  this  was  written  by  Lemuel  Hop 
kins,  Richard  Alsop,  and  Theodore  Dwight.13 
With  earnest  patriotism  and  wit  blended,  the 
verses  began : 

Oft  has  the  NEW  YEAR'S  Muse  essay'd, 

To  quit  the  annual   rhyming  trade, 

Oft  has  she  hop'd  the  period  nigh, 

When  fools  would  cease,  and  knaves  would  die, 

But  each  succeeding  year  has  tax'd  her 

With  "more  last  words  of  Mr.  Baxter." 

And  most  of  all  has  Ninety-Eight 

Outstripp'd  the  years  of  former  date, 

And   while  a  Jacobin   remains, 

While  Frenchmen  live  and  Faction  reigns, 

Her  voice,   array'd  in  awful   rhyme, 

Shall  thunder  down  the  steep  of  Time. 

With  unexpected  details,  the  authors  of  this 
New  Year's  message  gave  specific  directions  how 
to  avoid  contagion  from  yellow  fever,  which  was 
the  scourge  of  that  year  in  New  York.  There 
was  a  reason  for  these  references,  since  one  of  the 
wits  had  fallen  victim  to  the  fever  and  died,  Dr. 
Elihu  Smith.  He  made  the  first  large  compila 
tion  of  American  poetry  during  the  summer  of 

lt  The  Political  Green-House  for  the  Year  1798.    Addressed 
to  the  Readers  of  the  Connecticut  Courant,  January  1st, 
(Hartford,  no  date  ;   small   8vo),   The  Echo,  pp.  233-59. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  167 

1793,  while  he  was  resting  at  his  home  in  Litch- 
field,  Connecticut.  He  thus  preserved  many 
scattered  verses  by  his  friends  and  other  writers, 
which  would  otherwise  have  remained  unknown. 
Although  associated  somewhat  with  the  Hartford 
Wits,  he  was  more  closely  linked  with  the  early 
writers  of  fiction  and  drama  in  New  York. 
Further  mention  of  his  life,  therefore,  will  be 
deferred  until  the  later  chapters  of  this  book. 
According  to  a  note  by  Trumbull,  Dr.  Smith  was 
the  author  of  one  paper  in  The  Echo  series, 
"Extracts  from  Democracy  by  Aquiline  Nimble- 
chops."  14  He  probably  assisted  in  collaborating 
others. 

Burlesque  and  satire  characterize  the  pages  of 
The  Echo,  but  there  are  also  lines  of  earnestness, 
as  these  in  The  Guillotina: 

Spread  knowledge  then;  this  only  Hope 

Can  make  each  eye  a  telescope, 

Frame  it  by  microscopic  art ; 

To  scan  the  hypocritic  heart. 

One  poem,  assuredly  assigned  as  the  com 
position  of  Theodore  Dwight,  was  a  feigned 
rejoicing  at  the  election  of  Jefferson.  It  was 
entitled  "The  Triumph  of  Democracy,"  15  and  re- 

14  An  answering  satire  to  the  pamphlet  Democracy  by 
Henry  Brockholst  Livingston,  who  wrote  over  the  above 
pseudonym. 

11  Written  for  the  Connecticut  Courant,  January  i,  1801  ; 
in  The  Echo,  pp.  268-82. 


i68    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

vealed  the  feeling  of  bitterness  on  the  part  of  the 
Federalists     against     Jefferson,     with     scornful 
innuendo  against  Aaron  Burr,  in  the  closing  lines : 
Let  every   voice  with   triumph   sing — 
JEFFERSON  is  chosen  king! 
Ring  every  bell  in  every  steeple, 
T'  announce  the  "Monarch  of  the  People!" 
Stop,— ere  your  civic  feasts  begin, 
Wait  till  the  votes  are  all  come  in; 
Perchance,  amid  this  mighty  stir, 
Your  Monarch  may  be  Col.  BURR! 
Who,  if  he  mounts  the  sovereign  seat, 
Like  BONAPARTE  will  make  you  sweat, 
Your  Idol  then  must  quaking  dwell, 
Mid  Mammoth's  bones  at  Monticelle, 
His  country's  barque   from  anchors  free, 
On  "Liberty's  tempestuous  sea," 
While  all  the  Democrats  will  sing — 
THE  DEVIL  TAKE  THE  PEOPLE'S  KING! 

While  we  acknowledge  only  occasional  literary 
merit  in  the  work  of  the  Hartford  Wits — and  a 
large  part  of  it  has  political  rather  than  literary 
interest — it  must  be  confessed  by  one  who 
examines  their  writings  in  detail  that  they  reflect 
strong,  unique  personalities.  They  have  received 
far  less  attention  than  their  predecessors  in 
political  and  social  progress,  yet  they  bore  a  part 
in  the  development  of  an  upright  and  sane  Ameri 
canism.  If  Trumbull  was  considered  the  leader, 
as  we  have  said,  he  had  companions  in  fame, 
among  his  contemporaries, — Timothy  Dwight, 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  169 

Joel  Barlow,  and  David  Humphreys.  These  Con 
necticut  men  formed  a  mutual-admiration  society 
seldom  equaled  in  extravagant  tribute,  which 
reads  like  a  farce  today.  Thus  Alsop  praised 

Majestic  Dwight,  sublime  in  epic  strain, 
Paints  the  fierce  horrors  of  the  crimson  plain, 
And   in  Virgilian   Barlow's   tuneful   lines 
With  added  splendour  great  Columbus  shines.18 

In  the  eighth  book  of  The  Columbiad,  Joel  Bar 
low  became  effusive  over  the  poetic  gifts  of  the 
Connecticut  poets,  especially  Trumbull,  Timothy 
Dwight,  and  Humphreys : 

See  TRUMBULL  lead  the  train.    His  skilful  hand 
Hurls  the  keen  darts  of  satire  round  the  land. 
Pride,   knavery,   dulness   feel   his   mortal  stings, 
And  listening  virtue  triumphs  while  he  sings. 
Britain's  foil'd  sons,  victorious  now  no  more, 
In  guilt  retiring  from  the  wasted  shore, 
Strive  their  curst  cruelties  to  hide  in  vain, 
The  world  resounds  them  in  his  deathless  strain. 

See  HUMPHREYS  glorious  from  the  field  retire, 
Sheathe  the  glad  sword  and  string  the  soothing  lyre; 
His  country's  wrongs,  her  duties,  dangers,  praise, 
Fire  his    full   soul  and   animate   his   lays: 
Wisdom  and  War  with  equal  joy  shall  own 
So  fond  a  votary  and  so  brave  a  son. 

For  DWIGHT'S  high  harp  the  epic  Muse  sublime, 
Hails  her  new  empire  in  the  western  clime. 

18  The  Charms  of  Fancy  (New  York,   1856),  Book  II. 


HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  lines  just  quoted  will  suffice  to  indicate 
the  exuberance  of  phrases,  and  the  triteness  of 
thought,  which  seem  to  have  been  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  once  famous  Joel  Barlow. 
Of  all  the  Hartford  group  he  was  the  most  promi 
nent  in  the  earlier  years.  He  was  a  chaplain  in 
the  war,  was  agent  in  Paris  of  the  Scioto  Land 
Company  of  Ohio,  and  served  abroad  on  com 
missions  for  treaties  with  the  Barbary  tribes  and 
other  peoples.  In  spite  of  the  popular  verdict  of 
his  own  day  upon  his  voluminous  "Vision  of 
Columbus,"  "Conspiracy  of  Kings,"  and  "The 
Columbiad,"  he  will  be  remembered,  if  at  all,  by 
the  simple  rhyme  of  "Hasty-Pudding,"  written 
during  an  hour  of  loneliness  on  foreign  soil.17 

Barlow's  published  writings  of  varied  sorts — 
poetry,  addresses,  "Advice" — are  found  at  many 
libraries,  and  his  life  has  been  more  often  studied 
than  that  of  contemporary  writers  and  friends.18 
In  the  Pequot  Library  at  Southport,  Connecticut, 
is  a  rare  collection  of  manuscript  letters,  written 
by  Barlow,  only  a  few  of  which  have  been 
printed.  The  letters  to  his  wife,  which  form  the 
large  part,  are  interesting  revelations  of  the  per- 

"  Hasty  Pudd'ng:  A  Poem,  in  Three  Cantos.  Written 
in  Chambcry,  in  Sai'oy,  January  i,  1793,  (New  Haven,  1796). 

"Charles  Burr  Todd,  Life  and  Letters  of  Joel  Barlow, 
LLJ).,  Poet,  Statesman,  Philosopher  (New  York,  1886). 
Moses  Coit  Tyler,  Three  Men  of  Letters  (New  York,  1895.) 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS     171 

sonality  of  this  man  who  promised  so  much  and 
achieved  so  little,  in  diplomacy,  business,  and 
literature.  In  the  letters  to  his  wife  from  Paris,  in 
1789,  he  describes  the  Revolution  as  he  has  wit 
nessed  it,  and  feels  that  it  is  "no  small  satisfac 
tion  to  have  seen  two  complete  revolutions  in 
favor  of  Liberty."  With  frequent  apologies  for 
remaining  abroad,  he  explains  that  his  "affairs 
are  still  in  a  degree  of  uncertainty."  The  chief 
faults  which  his  friends  deplored  were  vacilla 
tion  and  a  proneness  to  speculate  with  money, 
both  his  own  and  that  of  others.  Manuscript 
poems  in  embryo,  especially  inspired  by  his 
acquaintance  in  Paris  with  Robert  Fulton,  are 
found  among  these  letters.19 

After  Barlow's  return  to  America,  and  the 
publication  of  his  long  poems,  he  expected  wide 
recognition  among  his  countrymen;  but  he  was 
embittered  by  indifference  on  some  sides,  and 
criticisms  from  other  sources  upon  his  political 
vacillation  and  seeming  infidelity.  Two  of  his 
letters,  unpublished  and  here  given  by  permission, 
indicate  his  sensitiveness,  and  they  also  show  his 
foresight  regarding  national  evils.  The  first  was 
addressed  to  Gideon  Granger,  postmaster-general, 
and  urged  the  appointment  of  a  friend  to  office, 
emphasizing  his  scholarship  and  mental  abilities: 

19  "The  Canal :  A  Poem  on  the  Application  of  Physical 
Science  to  Political  Economy"  etc.  ^(manuscript). 


172     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

It  is  really  discouraging  to  all  liberal  pursuits,  & 
proves  that  the  government  is  accessory  to  the  great 
national  sin  of  the  country,  which  I  fear  will  overturn  its 
liberties, — I  mean  the  inordinate  &  universal  pursuit  of 
wealth  as  a  means  of  distinction. 

For  example,  if  I  find  that  writing  the  Columbiad,"0 
with  all  its  moral  qualities,  literature,  &  science  which 
that  work  supposes,  will  not  place  me  on  a  footing  with 
John  Tayloe,  who  is  rich,  why  then  (God  damn  you)  I'll 
be  rich  too.  I'll  dispise  my  literary  labors  (which  tend  to 
builvl  up  our  system  of  free  government)  &  I'll  boast  of  my 
bank  shares  (which  tend  to  pull  it  down)  because  these 
&  not  those,  procure  me  the  distinction  which  we  all  desire. 
I  will  teach  my  nephews  by  precept  &  all  the  rising 
generation  by  example  that  merit  consists  in  oppressing 
mankind  &  not  in  serving  them." 

Another  significant  letter  was  written  by  Bar 
low  to  Jonathan  Law,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Hartford,  with  political  influence  in  answer  to 
charges  brought  against  the  would-be  poet  "by 
the  malicious  hypocrisy  of  such  men  as  Dwight, 
&  Parke  &  Coleman" : 

I  know  as  well  as  they  do  that  all  they  say  against 
me  is  false.  All  they  mean  or  ever  did  mean  by  calling 
me  an  antichristian  is  that  I  am  a  republican.  This 
latter  appellation  they  don't  like  to  quarrel  with  openly, 

&  for  that  reason  they  disguise  it  under  the  other 

But  I  shall  probably  never  condescend  to  give  my  calum- 

"  Sec  Critical  Observations  on  the  Columbiad,  etc.,  in  the 
Bibliography. 

n  The  Letters  were  dated  Kalorama,  near  Washington 
City,  May  3,  October  24,  1809. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  173 

niators  any  sort  of  answer.  I  ask  nothing  from  them,  not 
even  to  let  me  alone.  Poor  fellows,  they  must  live. 
Parke  says  individuals  &  nations  have  a  right  to  get  their 
bread  in  any  manner  they  can.  And  these  men  slander 
me  to  get  their  bread. 

I  remember  to  have  seen  a  song  in  praise  of  the  guillo 
tine  in  one  of  Cobbett's  pamphlets  about  a  dozen  years 
ago,  which  he  said  was  written  by  me.  It  might  have 
served  the  purpose  of  the  faction  at  the  time  to  lay  it  to 
me;  whatever  might  be  their  motive  it  was  a  forgery.*2 

Timothy  Dwight  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
publications  of  this  band  of  Hartford  wits,  but 
he  did  not  contribute  directly  to  their  writings. 
He  was  included  in  their  effusive  praises  of  each 
other,  and  his  ambitious  "Conquest  of  Canaan" 
and  "Greenfield  Hill"  were  considered  works  of 
lasting  renown.23  These  voluminous  poems  are 
seldom  read  today,  but  the  reposeful,  hymnal 

22  This  is  given  in  "A   Bone  to   Gnaw  for  the  Democrats, 
or  Observations  on  a   Pamphlet,   entitled   'The   Political   Pro 
gress  of  Britain,'  "  p.  16,  3d  ed.,  Philadelphia,  1795.     In  a  note 
it  is  stated  that  the  song  was  sung  at  the  Fourth  of  July  cele 
bration   at   Hamburg,   written   by   "the   celebrated   Mr.   Barlow 
who  was  then  at  that  place."     The  first  stanza  will  indicate 
the  radical  character  of  the  song : 

God  save  the  Guillotine, 

Till   England's   King  and   Queen, 

Her  power  shall  prove  ; 
Till   each   appointed   knob 
Affords    a   clipping   job 
Let   no   vile   halter   rob 

The  Guillotine. 

23  "The     Conquest     of     Caanan"      1785      (eleven     books). 
"Greenfield   Hill,"    1794    (seven  parts). 


l?4    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

lines  by  Dr.  Dwight,  and  his  strong  influence  upon 
young  men  in  behalf  of  better  citizenship,  have 
won  for  him  a  revered  name  in  American  history. 
He  was  an  ardent  patriot  and  a  great  admirer  of 
Washington.  A  letter  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr., 
written  after  Dwight's  visit  to  Philadelphia,  in 
1793,  denounced  Freneau  and  his  paper  for  its 
attacks  upon  Washington.  It  was  evident  that 
Dwight  considered  Freneau's  Gazette  as  a  Jeffer- 
sonian  organ  : 

The  late  very  impertinent  and  shameless  attacks  on  the 
first  Magistrate  are  viewed  with  a  general  and  marked 
indignation.  Freneau  your  printer,  Linguist,  &c.,  is  re 
garded  here  as  a  mere  incendiary,  or  rather  as  a  despi 
cable  tool  of  bigger  incendiaries;  and  his  paper  as  a 
public  nuisance. 

A  few  miles  from  New  Haven  is  the  hill-town 
of  Derby.  Here  is  an  active  chapter  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution — the 
Sarah  Riggs  Humphreys  chapter — that  has  pre 
served  many  relics  which  pertain  to  the  life- 
history  of  David  Humphreys.24  As  a  young 
captain  in  the  army  under  Colonel  Meigs,  and 
later  as  aide-de-camp  to  Generals  Putnam,  Greene, 
and  Washington,  Humphreys  showed  his  alertness 
of  mind,  his  courage,  and  his  zeal  for  American 

"  See  Chapter  Sketches,  Daughters  of  American  Revolu 
tion  (Connecticut,  1900)  ;  also  Seymour:  Past  and  Present 
(1902).  For  editors,  etc.,  see  the  Bibliography. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS     175 

progress.  After  the  war  he  was  with  Jefferson, 
for  a  time,  at  Paris  on  the  commission  for  treat 
ies  with  foreign  powers,  and  also  served  as 
diplomat  at  Lisbon  and  at  Madrid.  With  these 
manlier  traits  he  blended  gallantry  and  clever 
ness,  which  made  him  a  social  favorite  in  foreign 
circles  of  society,  but  which  called  forth  censure 
from  some  court-despising  Americans.  After  he 
had  returned  to  America,  he  was  invited  to  visit 
at  Mount  Vernon,  and  Washington  offered  him 
aid  in  pursuing  a  literary  plan 25  which  he  had 
mentioned  in  his  letters,  namely,  to  write  a  history 
of  the  Revolution.  At  first  thought,  it  may  seem 
unfortunate  that  this  plan  was  abandoned  by 
Humphreys  because  of  its  magnitude.  His  tastes 
and  effusive  style,  however,  would  not  have 
produced  a  history  of  permanent  value.  His  bio 
graphic  essays  on  Israel  Putnam  were  subjected 
to  severe  censure,  but  they  gave  the  materials 
for  later  historians  to  utilize  with  better  results.26 
In  letters  and  poetic  ventures,  Humphreys  left 
a  vivid  impression  of  Washington's  life  at  Mount 
Vernon,  in  the  years  between  the  close  of  the  war 
and  his  presidency.  He  pictured  him  as  super- 

20  The  Writings  of  Washington,  edited  by  W.  C.  Ford, 
Vol.  X,  pp.  473,  474. 

20  An  Essay  on  the  Life  of  the  Honourable  Major-General 
Israel  Putnam  (Hartford,  1788;  Philadelphia,  1798).  See 
more  fully  in  the  Bibliography. 


1 76    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

vising  his  eight  hundred  acres  of  wheat  and 
seven  hundred  acres  of  corn,  and  giving  his  per 
sonal  attention  to  the  task  of  navigating  the 
Potomac,  and  extending  the  settlement  of  the 
western  boundaries  of  the  country.  Humphreys 
was  very  proud  of  his  friendship  with  Washing 
ton,  and  often  referred  to  the  latter  with  deep 
admiration,  marred  sometimes  by  such  lines  of 
egotism  as  in  this  stanza : 

Let  others  sing  his  deeds  in  arms, 
A  nation  saved  and  conquest's  charms 

Posterity  shall   hear. 

'Twas  mine,  return'd  from  Europe's  courts, 
To  share  his  thoughts,  partake  his  sports, 
And  soothe  his  partial  ear.* 

This  soldier-versifier  was  vain  and  aspiring  to 
literary  fame,  but  he  showed  sturdier  qualities 
when  occasion  called  them  forth.  He  took  com 
mand  of  a  band  of  men  to  guard  the  arsenal  at 
Springfield,  when  it  was  threatened  in  Shay's 
Rebellion;  he  served  in  the  state  assembly  during 
the  years  when  he  was  collaborating  with  his 
friends  in  the  series  of  papers  of  The  Anarchiad. 
His  "Poem  Addressed  to  the  Armies  of  the 
United  States  of  America,"  first  published  in 
1780,  was  reprinted  in  Paris  six  years  later;  this 

*  Ode  "Mount  Vernon"  Connecticut  Courant,  October  9, 
1786;  Miscellaneous  Works  of  David  Humphreys,  p.  68. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  177 

sign  of  appreciation  gave  him  much  delight.28 
While  abroad  he  lived  in  a  style  which  attracted 
attention  for  its  luxury,  but  which  he  seemed  to 
defend  in  a  manuscript  letter  to  Timothy  Picker 
ing,  which  I  am  permitted  to  print  here.29  It 
was  written  soon  after  his  appointment  as 
minister  at  Madrid;  he  explained  the  necessary 
expenses  involved  in  moving  his  effects  from 
Lisbon  to  Madrid : 

I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  unnecessary  display,  foreign 
to  the  dignified  simplicity  so  becoming,  in  every  character, 
but  more  particularly  in  that  of  a  Republican  Minister;  or 
to  live  in  any  respect  in  an  ostentatious  manner ;  but  I  de 
sire  to  be  able  to  live  in  a  decent  style  (as  other  ministers 
are  accustomed  to  do)  without  being  under  the  necessity  of 

incurring  debts I  hope  &  believe  I  shall  never  affect 

a  style  of  hauteur;  and  whenever  I  cannot  live  abroad 
without  embarrassment  or  meanness,  I  shall  think  it  time 
to  retire  from  public  life — for  sometimes  the  embarrassed 
conduct  of  a  Diplomatic  Agent  extends  beyond  his  indi 
vidual  Character  and  leaves  an  unfavorable  impression 
of  the  Character  of  his  Nation  on  the  Minds  of  for 
eigners The  transportation  of  my  Carriages  (of 

which  I  shall  be  obliged  to  carry  four)  Baggage,  and 
necessaries  will  certainly,  in  the  augmented  price  of  for 
age,  etc.  cost  me  a  good  sum  of  money — for  besides  taking 

28  Discours  en  vers,  addresse  aux  officiers  et  aux  soldats 
des  differentes  artnees  americaines  (Paris,  1786).  Humphreys 
presented  several  libraries  in  America  with  copies  of  this 
poem. 

28 Pickering  Papers,  Vol.  XXI,  No.  i  (Massachusetts  His 
torical  Society).  Lisbon,  January  i,  1797. 


1 78    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

with  me  my  own  horses,  I  must  order  six  or  seven  Mules 
to  be  sent  from  Madrid,  and  moreover  employ  a  consider 
able  number  of  common  Carriers. 

In  spite  of  such  indications  of  coxcombry  in 
Humphreys,  shown  also  in  his  delight  to  intro 
duce  foreign  forms  into  the  President's  levees  in 
New  York,30  he  was  a  true  patriot  in  his  im 
pulses  and  aims.  At  forty-five,  while  abroad,  he 
married  the  daughter  of  an  English  banker,  but 
he  was  unwilling  to  live  abroad,  after  his  diplo 
matic  missions  were  ended.  As  he  had  shared  in 
gaining  the  liberty  of  America,  so  he  wished  to 
help  in  fostering  her  industries  and  arts.  While 
at  Lisbon  he  had  written  "A  Poem  on  Industry," 
which  ranked  with  his  poem  to  the  armies  in  its 
patriotism,  as  well  as  its  verbosity ;  Humphreys 
could  not  write  in  simple  English.31  The  poem, 
however,  and  his  practical  success  in  manufac 
turing  homespun  cloths,  entitle  him  to  credit  for 
noble  motives.  He  brought  with  him  from  Spain, 
in  1802,  one  hundred  and  fifty  merino  sheep,  as  a 
nucleus  for  his  enterprise.  Near  his  Derby  home 
he  established  a  number  of  mills  which  made  the 
settlement,  at  first  called  Chusetown  and  later 

"See  Jefferson's  Writings,  edited  by  Paul  L.  Ford,  Vol. 
I,  p.  216,  233. 

n  A  Poem  on  Industry:  addressed  to  the  Citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  By  Col.  David  Humphreys,  Minister 
Resident  at  the  Court  of  Lisbon  (Philadelphia,  i?94). 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  179 

Humphreysville,  a  flourishing  village.32  The 
fulling-mill,  cotton-mill,  and  paper-mill  were 
opened  in  turn,  and  employment  was  given  to 
scores  of  artisans.  He  brought  several  boys  from 
the  New  York  almshouses  as  apprentices.  From 
England  came  master-workmen  to  superintend 
the  manufacture  of  cloth,  which  was  worn  by 
Jefferson  and  other  statesmen,  and  which  en 
couraged  the  growth  of  American  industries.33 

Humphreys  was  not  alone  a  patriotic  manu 
facturer,  but  he  was  also  a  pioneer  social  settler. 
In  his  village  he  sought  to  produce  fine  manhood 
as  well  as  fine  cloth.  He  furnished  a  library  and 
recreation-room  for  his  operatives,  led  his  boys  in 
military  drills,  took  part  with  them  in  games,  and 
coached  them  in  rehearsals  of  various  plays  and 
"pieces"  of  his  own  composition.  One  of  these, 
The  Yankey  in  England,  was  acted  in  1815,  and 
printed.  In  studying  the  life  of  Humphreys,  we 
always  find  many  evidences  of  his  besetting 
sin,  literary  vanity.  He  won  respect  as  a  soldier 
and  a  promoter  of  industry,  but  he  sought  for 
rank  in  letters.  This  he  obtained  among  his 
friends,  and  often  he  was  highly  praised  in 
journals  of  the  day.34  He  cultivated  his  inferior 

32  See   Seymour:     Past   and   Present    (1902). 

33  Jefferson's  Writings,  Vol.   IX,  p.   225. 

34  In    the   Literary    Magazine   and   American    Register    for 
1805  is  a  so-called  "review"  of  his  Miscellaneous  Works  which 
is  absurd  in  praise. 


i8o    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

talents  too  ardently,  forgetting  the  moral  in 
'The  Monkey  Fable,"  probably  finished  by 
Trumbull  : 

Who  cannot  write,  yet  handle  pens, 

Are    apt    to    hurt    themselves    and    friends.18 

In  contrast  with  the  admiration  which 
Humphreys  craved,  and  often  gained  in  America, 
was  the  frank  disgust  of  Southey.  He  had  met 
Humphreys  at  Lisbon,  and  wrote  later  to  a  friend : 

Timothy  Dwight,  an  American,  published  in  1785  an 
heroic  poem  on  the  Conquest  of  Canaan.  I  had  heard  of 
it,  and  long  wished  to  read  it,  in  vain;  but  now  the 
American  Minister  (a  good-natured  man,  whose  poetry 
is  worse  than  anything  except  his  criticism)  has  lent 
me  the  book.  There  certainly  is  some  merit  in  the  poem; 
but  when  Col.  Humphreys  speaks  of  it,  he  will  not 
allow  me  to  put  in  a  word  in  defense  of  John  Milton.1* 

His  writings  were  prefaced  by  long  notes  of  ex 
planation  and  tribute. 

The  poems  which  are  least  effusive  and  offen 
sive  in  form,  among  those  included  in  his  Miscel 
laneous  Works,  were  the  odes  descriptive  of  the 
burning  of  Fairfield  by  the  British,  in  1779,  and 

16  The  Miscellaneous  Works  of  David  Humphreys,  Late 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  United  States  of  America 
to  the  Court  of  Madrid  (New  York,  1804),  p.  228.  An 
earlier  edition  of  poems  and  essay  on  Putnam,  1790.  See  the 
Bibliography. 

34  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Robert  Southey,  Vol.  I,  p. 
269. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  181 

that  on  the  "Happiness  of  America."  37  The 
stanza  in  the  latter  which  portrays  the  interior 
scene  of  a  humble  American  home  in  winter  may 
be  fittingly  recalled : 

The  cattle  fed— the  fuel  pil'd  within— 

At  setting  day  the  blissful  hours  begin; 

'Tis  then,  sole  owner  of  his  little  cot; 

The   farmer   feels  his  independent  lot ; 

Hears  with  the  crackling  blaze  that  lights  the  wall, 

The  voice   of  gladness   and   of  nature  call; 

Beholds   his   children   play,   their   mother   smile, 

And  tastes  with  them  the  fruit  of  summer's  toil. 

During  the  War  of  1812,  Humphreys  was 
general  of  a  company  of  war  veterans  for  home 
protection,  and  he  wrote,  with  rejoicing,  of  his 
country's  victories  on  the  sea.  His  monument, 
erected  soon  after  his  death  in  1818,  stands  near 
the  entrance  to  the  old  cemetery  at  New  Haven, 
close  to  Yale  University  buildings.  Its  verbose 
Latin  epitaph  was  written  by  his  friend  John 
Trumbull. 

Associated  with  the  men  of  greater  renown 
in  their  own  day — Timothy  Dwight,  Trumbull, 
Barlow,  and  Humphreys — were  three  collabor 
ators  of  less  familiar  but  influential  lives — 
Theodore  Dwight,  Richard  Alsop,  and  Dr. 
Lemuel  Hopkins.  Theodore  Dwight,  the  elder, 
and  brother  of  Timothy,  was  a  lawyer,  and  was 

87  The  former  poem  was  written  "on  the  spot"  soon  after 
the  burning  of  the  town,  where  lived  his  sister,  who  barely 
escaped  (Works,  p.  112). 


1 82    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

editor  of  the  Connecticut  Mirror  from  1809  until 
1815.  For  two  years  previously,  1806-7,  he  was 
a  member  of  Congress.  The  latter  part  of  his 
life  was  passed  in  New  York,  where  he  con 
ducted  the  Neiv  York  Daily  Advertiser  from 
1817  to  i835.38  He  wrote  a  partisan  study  of 
Jefferson's  character,  a  fervent  hymn  on  Wash 
ington,  some  strong  orations  and  an  etymolog 
ical  dictionary.  To  him  we  owe  the  preservation 
of  the  long  poem  by  Richard  Alsop,  The  Charms 
of  Fancy,  and  many  interesting  revelations  of  the 
poet,  who  was  not  alone  D wight's  friend,  but 
also  his  brother-in-law.39 

Alsop  was  probably  the  editor  of  the  papers 
known  as  The  Echo,  when  they  were  first  printed. 
A  letter,  in  manuscript,  from  him  to  Dr.  Mason 
Cogswell  is  in  the  copy  of  The  Reno  owned  by 
John  Trumbull,  now  at  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society.  Alsop  mentioned  some  errata  and  con 
tinued,  regarding  the  tone  of  the  papers : 

I  should  be  very  sorry  to  have  The  Echo  considered 
as  a  party  production,  as  it  must  considerably  lessen  its 
reputation,  &  any  alterations  which  will  take  off  from  that 
appearance  without  injury  to  the  object  in  view,  in  my 
opinion  will  be  best. 

**  Facts  about  Dwight  and  Alsop  are  in  J.  Hammond 
Trumbull,  The  Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  157-60.  See  also  the  Bibliography. 

"  A  review  of  Dwight's  character  and  works  were  pub 
lished  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society  Proceedings, 
1846,  p.  13. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  183 

Born  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,  Alsop  pre 
pared  for  college,  but  continued  his  studies  at 
home,  becoming  a  fine  translator  of  Runic 
poetry,  Homer,  Ossian,  and  Molina's  History 
of  Chili,  For  a  time  he  had  a  bookstore  in  Hart 
ford,  where  he  lived  with  his  sister.  In  an  ad 
dress,  To  the  Freemen  of  Connecticut,  (which  is 
classified  as  his  by  an  ink  ascription  in  a  copy  at 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  dated  Mid 
dletown,  September  12,  1803,)  he  expressed  confi 
dence  that  God  would  protect  "the  Vine  of  this 
state"  against  "the  rude  shocks  of  democratic 
violence,  nor  will  He  suffer  its  ripened  clusters 
to  be  trampled  in  the  dust."  40 

In  William  Dunlap's  manuscript  journal,  1797, 
he  mentions  a  visit  to  Alsop  at  Middletown,  "to 
shoot  ducks;"  later  he  accompanied  Alsop  "in  a 
chaise  to  Hartford  where  lived,  at  that  time,  Miss 
Fanny  Alsop." 

In  the  "Memoir"  of  Alsop  which  prefaced  his 
visionary  poem,  The  Charms  of  Fancy,  we  learn 
of  his  scholarship  and  scientific  interests  which 
blended  with  his  poetic  tastes.  His  sister  said : 
"He  seemed  to  know  every  variety  of  birds,  and 
I  might  almost  say,  every  feather."  In  boxes  of 
his  own  design  he  kept  his  natural-history  speci 
mens — a  large  collection.  His  long,  ambitious 

40  To  the  Freemen  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  p.  16  .(no 
place),  1803. 


184    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

poem  on  fancy,  and  its  inspiration  for  poet, 
painter,  and  musician,  has  a  few  fine  lines,  and 
reveals  his  wide  reading  and  patriotic  zeal  for 
America's  progress  in  the  arts.  The  poem  by 
Alsop  which  seems  to  me  the  most  worthy,  how 
ever,  was  not  printed  in  permanent  form,  except 
in  collections  of  poetry,  but  it  suggests,  as  a  fore 
runner,  Bryant's  "To  a  Waterfowl."  Alsop's 
poem  was  entitled  "Verses  to  a  Shearwater  on  the 
Morning  after  a  Storm  at  Sea":41 

On  the  fiery  tossing  wave, 

Calmly  cradled  dost  thou  sleep, 

When  the  midnight  tempests  rave, 
Lonely  wanderer  of  the  deep ! 

Far  from  earth's  remotest  trace, 
What  impels  thee  thus  to  roam? 

What  hast  thou  to  mark  the  place, 
When  thou  seek'st  thy  distant  home? 

Without  star  or  magnet's  aid, 
Thou  thy   faithful   course  dost  keep; 

Sportive    still,    still    undismay'd, 
Lonely   wanderer   of   the   deep! 

Alsop  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York.  He  died  at  Flatbush  in 
1815.  In  his  lifetime  he  was  generally  known 
as  author  of  one  of  the  most  widely  quoted  elegies 

41  Kettell,  in  Specimens  of  American  Poetry,  Vol.  II, 
p.  60. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  185 

on  Washington,  and  was  honored  for  his  transla 
tions  from  the  Eddas,  and  from  Spanish  and 
Italian.42 

The  sharpest  wit  among  the  Hartford  writ 
ers  was  Lemuel  Hopkins.  He  used  travesties  and 
imagery  which  defied  all  poetic  standards.  As 
a  physician  he  ranked  among  the  progressive  lead 
ers  of  his  day;  in  his  memory  the  Hopkins  Medi 
cal  Society  was  formed  in  i826.43  Born  at  Hop 
kins  Hill,  in  Waterbury,  in  1750,  he  served  as  a 
soldier  for  a  time,  but  lost  no  opportunity  to  study 
for  the  profession  of  medicine,  which  he  had 
chosen  in  youth  as  a  goal.  After  gaining  some 
experience  with  two  noted  men  of  his  day  and 
state — Dr.  Seth  Bird,  of  Litchfield,  and  Dr.  Jared 
Potter,  of  Wallingford — he  settled  in  Hartford, 
in  1784,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  six 
teen  years  later.  By  success  in  his  profession,  and 
by  his  courageous  advocacy  of  inoculation  for 
small-pox,  use  of  anaesthetics,  and  radical  reme 
dies  for  yellow  fever,  he  gained  repute  outside 
his  state  and  was  often  called  into  consultation. 
Yale  conferred  an  honorary  degree  upon  him. 

42  A  Poem  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  George  Washington, 
etc.,  by  Richard  Alsop  (Hartford,  1800;  23  pages,  8vo).     For 
Alsop's  translations,  see  the  Bibliography. 

43  A  good  account  of  Dr.  Hopkins  is  in  American  Medical 
Biography;   or,   Memoirs  of  Eminent  Physicians   Who   Have 
Flourished    in    America,    by    James    Thacher,    M.D.    (Boston, 
1828),  Vol.  I,  pp.  298-306. 


186    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Many  traditions  and  local  stories  cluster  about 
his  personality.  He  was  nervous,  brusque,  with 
keen  eyes,  and  a  peculiar,  awkward  gait.  One 
story  illustrates  his  brusqueness  combined  with 
faithfulness.  On  a  stormy  night  he  rode  four 
miles  to  assure  himself  that  a  certain  remedy  was 
accomplishing  the  desired  results.  Arriving  at 
the  house,  he  entered,  made  a  silent  examination, 
refused  to  speak  to  any  of  the  inmates,  and  rode 
away.  He  was  a  dreaded  enemy  of  impostors  and 
quacks.  Another  anecdote  indicates  this  trait. 
With  Dr.  Cogswell,  he  was  attending  a  patient 
who  was  dying  of  tubercular  disease.  The  sister 
of  the  sick  girl  unreasonably  besought  the  doc 
tors  to  use  some  "fever  powders,"  which  she  had 
bought  from  a  peripatetic  quack.  Dr.  Hopkins 
asked  her  to  bring  the  powders,  announced  that 
one  and  a  half  was  recorded  as  the  largest  dose 
which  it  was  safe  to  take,  calmly  mixed  twelve 
of  the  powders  in  molasses,  and  swallowed  them, 
remarking  to  his  colleague :  "Cogswell,  I  am  go 
ing  to  Coventry  today.  If  I  die  from  this,  you 
must  write  on  my  tombstone:  'Here  lies  Hop 
kins,  killed  by  Grimes.'  "44  In  indignation  against 
a  "cancer  doctor"  who  had  troubled  the  neigh- 

''  This  anecdote,  with  others,  may  be  found  in  Charles  W. 
Everest,  The  Poets  of  Connecticut  (Hartford,  1843).  Here 
are  also  several  of  Hopkins'  poems  (pp.  51-58):  "Poland" 
(i775)  J  "On  Gen.  Ethan  Allen,"  "Robespierre,"  "Gen.  Wayne 
and  the  West,"  "Lines  on  the  Yellow  Fever,"  etc. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  187 

borhood,    he   wrote   the    rugged   verse,    "On    a 
Patient  Killed  by  a  Cancer  Quack"  : 

Here   lies   a    fool,   flat   on   his   back, 
The  victim  of  a  cancer  quack; 
Who   lost   his   money  and  his   life, 
By  plaister,  caustic  and  by  knife. 

More  dignified  were  the  ironical  stanzas,  "The 
Hypocrite's  Hope" : 

He  tones  like   Pharisee  sublime, 

Two  lengthy  prayers  a  day, 
The  same  that  he  from  early  prime, 

Has  heard  his  father  say. 


Good  works  he  careth  nought  about, 

But    faith    alone    will    seek, 
While   Sunday's   pieties  blot  out, 

The  knaveries   of   the  week.45 

A  few  letters  from  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins  to 
his  friend  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  are  in  manuscript 
at  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society ;  I  have  been 
given  the  privilege  of  quoting  from  them.  One 
written  in  October,  1783,  reveals  Hopkins'  wit 
and  his  interest  in  political  affairs : 

I  thank  you  for  your  inteligence  &  thoughts  on 
politicks;  but  have  not  time  to  tell  you  my  own.  But 
I  lament  with  you  the  ill  aspect  of  our  affairs,  and  am 
afraid  to  think  much  of  the  next  scene  for  of  late,  when 
I  have  indulg'd  such  thoughts,  the  Ghost  of  a  certain  text 

46  American  Poems,  Litchfield,  (1793)1,  P-  *39  '>  Sam 
uel  Kettell,  Specimens  of  American  Poetry,  Vol.  I,  p.  282. 


i88    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

has   grinn'd   horrible   at   me   a  ghastly  smile, — 'tis   this — 
"Wo  unto  thee  oh  land  when  thy  king  is  a  fool." 

In  a  letter  from  Hartford,  after  his  removal 
there  from  Litchfield,  he  refers  to  the  American 
Antiquities  (The  Anarchiad)  as  having  "given  a 
considerable  check  to  a  certain  kind  of  popular 
intrigue  in  this  state." 

During  the  prevalence  of  small-pox  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1793,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Wolcott  regard 
ing  inoculation,  which  he  practiced  freely : 

This  business  is  much  like  that  of  the  Treasury  De 
partment  in  regard  to  existing  jealousies,  raising  party 
spirit  &c.,  yet,  from  certain  causes,  my  particular  mode 
of  conducting  it,  in  case  of  any  suspicion  of  wrong  meas 
ures,  does  not  admit  of  so  unanswerable  a  justification. 

There  are  some  philosophic  sentences  in  the 
same  letter  regarding  the  influences  of  city  and 
village  life,  which  are  interesting  today: 

The  more  a  man  is  among  all  sorts  of  people,  the 
more  fully  will  he  learn  the  unmeasured  difference  there  is 
between  the  sentiments  of  newspapers,  replete  with  local 
politics,  and  the  opinions  of  an  enlighten'd  people  in 
the  peaceable  and  successful  pursuit  of  wealth  &  happi 
ness. — I  find  more  &  more  that  a  busy  set  of  wrong- 
heads  can  at  pleasure  stir  up,  for  a  time,  any  sentiments 
they  please  in  cities — and  that  there  is  a  great  aptitude  in 
most  men  to  consider  cities  as  worlds,  or  at  least  as  the 
manufactories  of  sentiments  for  whole  countries — and 
much  of  this  may  be  true  in  the  old  world;  but  in  N. 
England  the  contrary  is,  and  ever  will  be  true,  as  long 
as  our  schools,  presses  &  Town-corporations  last. 


A  GROUP  OF  HARTFORD  WITS  189 

With  his  shrewd  insight  into  the  diseases  of 
individuals  and  of  the  nation,  with  his  urgent 
desire  for  progress  through  education,  Dr.  Hop 
kins  was  a  good  type  of  his  time,  and  especially 
of  this  group  of  Connecticut  writers.  They  were 
earnest,  as  well  as  witty ;  they  sought  to  use  their 
talents  for  the  advance  of  industry  and  political 
sanity.  Their  writings  mirrored  many  of  the 
aspirations  and  fears  of  the  period  which  fol 
lowed  the  war  and  was  concerned  with  the  estab 
lishment  of  stable  government. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE:  "THE  LAY 
PREACHER" 


I  OS  1. 1 '!  I    DI-.NNIK 

From   portrait   owned   by   liis  family;     reproduced   from   Clapp's 
Sketch  o/  noniie,  1880. 


VI 

JOSEPH  DENNIE :  "THE  LAY 
PREACHER" 

Journalism  is  an  altar  on  which  have  perished 
the  hopes  and  fortunes  of  many.  Today  our 
libraries  and  homes  are  crowded  with  magazines 
of  all  degrees  of  merit  and  ranges  of  topics.  Pub 
lishers  announce  extraordinary  figures  of  circu 
lation  of  many  of  these  journals;  others,  of  more 
intrinsic  value,  perish  after  a  brief  existence. 
The  latter  fate  was  the  common  lot  of  many  in 
teresting  ventures  in  journalism  during  the  earlier 
decades  of  American  literature.  The  student 
who  follows  the  lives  of  our  pioneer  authors, 
from  Franklin  to  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  will 
be  impressed  by  the  many  fitful,  short-lived 
journals  by  which  these  writers  sought  to  pro 
mote  literary  culture  and  progress  in  art  and 
science. 

Freneau  ventured  and  lost,  both  hopes  and 
funds,  in  his  later  newspapers,  which  combined 
literature  with  politics.  Brown  devoted  his  ma 
ture  years  to  experiments  in  reviews,  intended  to 
educate  the  middle  classes  and  make  them  ac 
quainted  with  the  best  foreign  authors,  far  too 
193 


194    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN?  LITERATURE 

unfamiliar  to  many  Americans  during  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  and  successful  of 
early  American  journalists  was  Joseph  Dennie, 
known  in  his  own  day  as  "the  Lay  Preacher,"  or 
often  as  "the  American  Addison."  He  was  born 
in  Boston,  August  30,  1768,  but  during  his  boy 
hood  his  family  moved  to  Lexington.  He  is  as 
sociated  in  literature  with  New  Hampshire  and 
Philadelphia.  After  studying  at  a  commercial 
school  in  Boston,  and  at  Samuel  West's  school  at 
Needham,  he  entered  Harvard  in  the  sophomore 
class,  in  1787.  As  a  boy  he  wrote  ambitious 
verses.  His  mother  declared,  with  farcical  pride : 

He  wrote  poetry  in  early  life  after  the  manner  of 
Horace  and  various  other  modes  but  never  pleased  him 
self His  father  persuaded  him  to  quit  a  pursuit 

where  he  would  kill  himself  with  his  own  sword.1 

At  college,  Dennie  was  a  favorite  with  the 
students.  Genial  and  merry,  he  was  also  im 
petuous  and  ready  to  combat  any  injustice.  Once 
he  was  absent  from  college  because  of  illness. 
On  his  return,  he  was  reprimanded  by  someone 

1  Sketch  of  Dennie  in  The  Philadelphia  Souvenir  by  John 
E.  Hall  (Philadelphia,  1826).  Mr.  Hall  told  here  also  of 
Dennie's  hatred  of  arithmetic  throughout  his  life.  In  mature 
years  he  spent  more  than  a  day  puzzling  over  his  landlady's 
problem  of  the  cost  of  seven  and  three-fourths  pounds  of 
mutton  at  five  and  one  fourth  cents  a  pound  and  finally  assured 
the  lady  that  "the  butcher  was  doubtless  honest  and  she 
might  safely  pay  her  bill." 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  195 

who  did  not  know  the  circumstances.  Serious 
differences  arose  between  him  and  his  tutors.  He 
declaimed,  with  emphasis  and  vocal  insult,  one  of 
Lord  Chatham's  speeches  which  could  be  con 
strued  as  a  direct  affront  to  his  tutors,  and  he  was 
suspended  for  six  months.  He  passed  the  time 
pleasantly  in  the  home  of  a  clergyman,  Mr.  Chap 
lin,  of  Groton,  who  combined  tutoring  with  moral 
influence.  In  one  of  his  Lay  Sermons?  Dennie 
referred  to  this  episode  in  his  college  life,  saying : 
"I  lost  my  tutors  and  found  a  friend.  It  was 
like  the  exchange  of  armour  between  Glaucus  and 
Diomede;  it  was  brass  for  gold."  He  cherished 
his  hurt  pride,  however,  declaring  that  the  action 
of  the  faculty  had  awakened  in  him  "a  prejudice 
which  no  time  shall  destroy."  He  was  restored 
to  membership  in  the  college  and  his  class  by 
making  a  written  appeal  for  pardon  and  rein 
statement,  and  suffering  a  public  reprimand  be 
fore  the  college.  He  did  not  forget  the  severe 
treatment,  although  he  made  no  open  defiance. 

His  mother  seemed  to  sympathize  with  his 
sensitive,  fractious  nature.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Bartholomew  Green,  Jr.,  who  had  been  asso 
ciated  with  his  father  as  printer  of  the  early  news 
paper,  the  Boston  News  Letter.  Dennie  was 
devoted  to  his  mother.  In  tribute  to  her  influence 
he  wrote :  "During  the  course  of  my  pilgrimage 

'"Interment  of  Saul,"  The  Lay  Preacher,  1817. 


196     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

I  have  found  many  friends  but  only  one  mother. 
For  two  and  twenty  years  you  have  been  uni 
formly  my  guide  and  patroness."  His  father  was 
less  sympathetic  and  more  thrifty,  as  was  recalled 
by  the  son  in  his  sermon  "Of  Precipitation" : 

In  my  boyhood,  I  remember  that  a  parent  would 
sometimes  repeat  lessons  of  economy  as  I  sat  upon  his 
knees,  and  then  lift  me  in  his  arms,  that  I  might  look 
at  Hogarth's  plates  of  Industry  and  Idleness.  On  youth 
ful  fancy  the  picture  was  more  impressed  than  the  pre 
cept. 

After  leaving  college,  Dennie  decided  to  study 
law.  His  first  inclination  had  been  toward  the 
ministry,  but  he  said  he  gave  up  that  because 
of  "its  starchedness  of  thinking  and  behaviour." 
He  read  law  in  the  office  of  Mr.  West,  of  Charles- 
town,  New  Hampshire,  and  thus  began  associa 
tion  with  the  vicinity  where  he  was  to  gain  his 
experience  in  journalism  and  his  unique  pseu 
donym.  With  an  impressive  voice  and  manner, 
he  was  chosen  to  read  the  liturgy  and  lay  sermons 
during  a  season  of  pastoral  vacancy  at  the  Epis 
copal  church  in  Charlestown.  So  well  did  he 
please  the  people  that  he  was  given  a  contract  "for 
four  months  as  a  Reader  at  the  rate  of  245  per 
Sunday." 

At  first  he  read  sermons  by  noted  preachers. 
Later  he  interpolated  original  sentences;  and 
finally  he  began  to  preach  an  occasional  lay  ser- 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  IQ7 

inon  of  his  own  writing.  This  youthful  service 
he  recalled  in  after  years,  in  one  of  his  published 
Sermons: 

Many  years  ago  I  stood  in  a  rustic  pulpit,  and  was 
wont  to  address  myself  to  the  few  villagers  who  thought 
my  sermons  worth  listening  to.  It  was  literally  the 
"voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,"  for  the  forest 
was  frequently  my  study  and  my  principal  hearers  a 
gurgling  brook,  a  silent  valley  or  an  aged  tree.  I  had 
but  few  of  the  fathers  to  consult  and  perused  the  best  of 
books,  not  with  Poole's,  but  my  own  commentary.* 

He  was  urged  to  give  up  law  and  study  the 
ology.  He  could  then  be  ordained  as  minister 
of  the  Charlestown  church;  the  parish  was  will 
ing  to  wait  for  him  to  take  a  theological  course. 
It  is  evident,  from  chance  references  in  his  letters, 
that  he  considered  the  subject  carefully  before 
he  decided  in  the  negative.  Moreover,  he  was 
much  annoyed  by  the  criticism  passed  upon  him 
by  some  Boston  friends  regarding  the  propriety 
of  his  serving  as  a  lay  preacher.  That  a  lawyer 
should  officiate  in  a  pulpit  seemed  to  some  a 
questionable  practice.  Even  his  honesty  of  re 
ligious  belief  and  expression  was  assailed,  and  his 
first  Lay  Sermons,  as  published  in  local  news 
papers,  were  called  indecorous,  if  not  irreligious. 

8  "Design  of  the  Preacher,"  text  from  Solomon,  3:2  (The 
Lay  Preacher,  collected  and  arranged  by  John  E.  Hall,  Esq., 
Counsellor  at  Law  [Philadelphia,  1817]).  See  earlier  editions 
of  The  Lay  Preacher  in  the  Bibliography. 


198     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Such  slanders  increased  his  resentment  against 
Boston,  although  he  returned  there  for  a  brief 

;     :r:i"  ~:  :     e:::v."r 

\\~hfle  be  defied  these  critics,  he  wished  to  vin 
dicate  his  action  to  his  parents.     He  wrote  to 

:::e:y.  :nr.-:.v 

Great    Britain,    which    the    EfHSCOpaha&s    here    serviWy 


it  demands  not  hypocrisy  of  heart  or  face 
decency  of  life  ft  such  a  mode  of  reading  as  your 
the  mstrnctioas  of  Dcnte  Rogers,  and  the  ooy- 

01  your  tattle  Horary  have  mspo'eu. 

\Vith  a  characteristic  touch  of  egotism  he  adds : 

:      _     •.'     '•  \~  ~  "_  ~  J  "  1      . . '_"  7     .  j     .  -     ;  _  ~  ~     '  ~  '.'      '  ••  ~  •:  ~. 

I  have  a  TfrErw  ox  **r^-**L  vovos  of  course  wiu  voDov. 

The  last  sentence  seems  to  have  been  true,  for 
be  was  fecund  in  words,  both  spoken  and  written. 
in  the  pulpit,  in  journals,  and  at  the  bar.  His 
readiness  with  flowery  language  once  brought 
ridicule  upon  him  in  the  courtroom.  The  story 
has  passed  down  in  literary  anecdote  and  may 
suggest  a  reason  for  his  retirement  from  law.5 
The  case  on  trial  involved  a  promissory  note  and 
its  requital  In  a  style  acquired  by  devotion  to 

•W.  W.  Oas*   Sketch   of   [Joseph}   Demme 


JOSEPH  DEXXIE  199 

Pope  and  Swift,  the  young  attorney  pictured,  with 
artificial  pathos,  a  home-scene  in  humble  life.  The 
panorama  was  vivid  and  glowing:  "the  taper's 
solitary  ray  glimmered."  while  the  "children  ran 
to  lisp  their  sire's  return."  Then  came  the  bailiff, 
"down  whose  hard,  unmeaning  face  ne'er  stole 
the  pity-ing  tear.v  Through  "the  pelting,  pitiless 
storm  the  father  was  dragged  to  a  loathsome 
prison."  As  Dennie  grew  more  florid  in  his 
harangue,  the  farmer-judge  was  mystified,  and 
confessed : 

I  am  in  rather  a  kind  o'  a  quandary:  I  yoiaa  I  am 
somewhat  dubus :  I  can't  say  that  I  know  for  sartain 
what  the  young  gentleman  would  be  at 

\Yhen  some  fellow-lawyer  explained  that  Dennie 
wished  to  have  the  case  postponed,  the  judge  ex 
claimed  : 

Ay,  now  I  believe  I  understand,— the  young  man 
wants  the  case  to  be  hung  up  for  the  next  term,  dnz  he? 
Well,  well,  if  that's  all  he  wants,  why  couldn't  he  say  so 
in  a  few  words  pat  to  the  purpose,  without  all  this  tarry 
cum  lurry. 

Dennie  had  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  join  in  the  general  laugh  at  his 
expense:  but  he  was  disgusted  with  law  in  the 
rural  districts  and  declared  that  he  would  make 
no  further  attempts  "to  batter  down  a  mud  wall 
with  roses."  6 

•  J.  T.  Buckingham.  Anecdotes,  Personal  M\  nil  <p* 
Biographies  of  f  itttmj  Me*  (Boston,  185*),  Vol.  II.  p.  175. 


200    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

He  had  evidently  saved  some  money  from  his 
lay-reading  and  his  practice  of  law,  although  the 
latter  was  not  very  lucrative  nor  long  continued ; 
for  he  wrote  to  his  mother,  while  still  in  Charles- 
town: 

I  am  now  worth  416  dollars,  clear  and  unencumbered. 
I  enjoy  a  high  station  on  the  rock  of  independence,  un- 
scared,  as  Pope  says,  by  the  spectre  of  poverty,  and  I 
hope  I  shall  be  able  to  walk  through  life  without  a 
crutch.7 

He  had  already  begun  to  contribute  a  column 
of  witty  essays,  "The  Farrago,"  to  the  New 
Hampshire  Journal  and  Farmer's  Weekly 
Museum  of  Walpole,  New  Hampshire,  which 
was  started,  in  1793,  by  David  Carlisle,  Jr., 
a  native  of  the  town  and  a  "freed  apprentice"  of 
Isaiah  Thomas,  of  Worcester,  who  had  a 
printing-shop  and  bookstore  in  Walpole.  On  the 
last  page  of  this  little  newspaper  was  "The 
Dessert,"  to  which  Dennie  contributed. 

Some  of  these  sketches  by  Dennie  were  re 
printed  in  the  Boston  Centinel,  and  he  was  en 
couraged  to  return  to  Boston  for  a  journalistic 
venture.  This  was  the  Tablet,  a  twelve  by  eight 
sheet,  whose  issues  as  long  as  life  lasted,  from 
May  19  to  August  11,  1795,  may  be  found  at  the 

7J.  E.  Hall,  The  Philadelphia  Sourcnir :  A  Collection  of 
Fugitive  Pieces  from  the  Philadelphia  Press,  with  Biographical 
and  Explanatory  Notes  (Philadelphia,  1826). 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  201 

Boston  Public  Library.8  "The  Farrago"  was  its 
leading  feature,  although  current  events  in  litera 
ture,  politics,  and  society  were  recorded.  Here 
also  appeared  verses  "From  the  Shop  of  Colon 
and  Spondee."  The  chief  writer  of  this  dog 
gerel  was  Royall  Tyler,  who  was  associated  with 
Dennie  under  a  similar  pseudonym  in  the  Farm 
er's  Museum  and  The  Portfolio.  Tyler's  name  is 
more  closely  related  to  the  beginnings  of  drama 
through  his  play  The  Contrast,  which  is  discussed 
in  the  next  chapter. 

Tyler  was  practicing  law  at  Brattleboro,  Ver 
mont,  and  became  a  warm  friend  to  Dennie  when 
the  latter  returned  from  Boston  to  Walpole. 
Dennie  was  a  great  admirer  of  his  friend,  who 
was  ten  years  older.  Together  they  planned  liter 
ary  schemes  and  read  classic  authors.  Dennie  was 
more  adroit  and  polished  than  Tyler.  The  latter's 
humor  was  puerile,  and  his  stanzas  were  weak 
and  too  alliterative,  as  "From  Fond  Frederic  to 
Fanny  False  Fair."  He  could  write  more  worthy 
odes,  like  one  for  the  Fourth  of  July,  1799.®  The 
two  friends  were  marked  contrasts  in  looks  and 
mental  traits.  Tyler,  with  his  plain,  stolid  face, 

8  Files  of  this  journal  are  also  at  the  Lenox  Library  and 
the    Historical    Society   of   Pennsylvania.      It   was   "Dedicated 
to  the   Belles-Lettres,"  and   published  by  William   Spotswood, 
of  Marlborough  Street. 

9  Kettell,  Specimens  of  American  Poetry,  Vol.  II,  p.  48. 


202     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

high  forehead,  and  hair  unadorned,  was  quite 
different  from  handsome  Dennie,  with  "befrizzled 
ear-locks/'  pea-green  coat,  silk  stockings,  shoes 
with  huge  buckles  and  generous  bows.10 

Dennie  was  gay  and  dilatory;  Tyler  was 
prompt  and  careful.  Dennie  often  wrote  his  best 
under  pressure.  The  printing-shop  of  Walpole 
was  next  to  the  Crafts  Tavern,  and  Tyler  recalls 
an  incident  when  Dennie  was  forced  to  finish  his 
"Lay  Sermon"  in  great  haste.  He  was  playing 
cards  at  the  tavern,  when  the  printer's  boy  came 
in  with  a  demand  for  the  copy  which  Dennie  had 
promised.  The  latter  ignored  the  summons  as 
long  as  he  could,  but  was  compelled  at  last  to  yield 
his  "hand"  to  a  neighbor  while  "he  gave  the  devil 
his  due." 

The  year  after  Dennie  had  failed  with  The 
Tablet  in  Boston,  he  undertook  the  editorship  of 
the  Farmer's  Weekly  Museum.11  He  was  in 
ventive  and  introduced  several  features  which 
gave  popularity  to  the  journal  for  a  few  months. 
There  were  political  lampoons  by  "Simon 
Spunkey,"  or  F.  T.  G.  Fessenden,  sketches  by 
"The  Meddler,"  and  "The  Hermit,"  and  jocose 

10  J.  T.   Buckingham,  op.  cit.,  Vol.   II,  pp.    195-202. 

11  The   full   name   of   this   paper   was   The  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont  Journal ;  or  Farmer's  Weekly  Museum.     A  com 
plete  file   is   at   the   American    Antiquarian    Society.      A    Sum 
mary  of  its  contents  is  in  The  Spirit  of  the  Farmer's  Museum 
and  Lay  Preacher's  Gasette  (Walpole,   1801). 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  203 

verse  and  prose  from  "The  Shop  of  Colon  and 
Spondee."  Several  men  in  the  neighborhood 
formed  a  literary  club  and  contributed  at  times 
to  Dennie's  paper.  Among  the  members,  beside 
Tyler,  were  Jeremiah  Mason,  Major  Bullard, 
Samuel  Hunt,  and  Royal  Vose,  the  last  two  after 
ward  members  of  Congress.12 

The  metrical  announcement  of  the  journal 
emphasized  its  aims.  Its  motto  was :  "Ho,  every 
one  that  thirsteth  for  novelty,  Come !" 

To  greet  each  good  and  letter'd  man, 

A  Journal   form'd  on  generous  plan, 

None  of  your  dull,  mechanic  Dutch  things, 

But    fraught   with   poetry   and   such   things; 

With  politicians,  wise  as  Solon, 

With    PREACHER,    HERMIT,    SPONDEE,    COLON, 

With    pointed,    pithy,    pretty    PETER, 

Whom  ladies  called  the  charming  creature.13 

In  adition  to  the  bagatelles  and  squibs,  there 
were  serious  essays  of  educational  and  literary 
kinds — biographical  studies  of  contemporary 
American  authors,  among  them  Trumbull  and 
Barlow,  and  of  statesmen,  like  John  Adams  and 
Oliver  Wolcott.  Extracts  from  English  authors, 
with  comments,  were  given  freely ;  there  was  also 

12  George  Aldrich,   Walpole  as  It  Was  and  as  It  Is  (Clare- 
mont,   1880),  pp.   74-82. 

13  This  last  contributor  was  Isaac   Story,  known  as  "Peter 
Quince,"  rival  and  cousin  of  "Peter  Pindar." 


204    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

a  summary  of  foreign  news.    There  was  an  occa 
sional  stanza  of  wit,  as — 

Women  were   born,   so    fate   declares, 
To  smoothe  our  linen  and  our  cares; 
And  'tis  but  just,  for  by  my  troth, 
They're  very  apt  to  ruffle  both. 

The  climax  of  popularity  under  Dennie's 
editorship  seemed  to  be  in  December,  1797,  when 
the  editor  wrote : 

The  constant  swell  of  our  subscription  book  suggests 
a  theme  to  our  gratitude,  and  a  motive  to  our  industry. 
The  Farmer's  Museum  is  read  by  more  than  two  thou 
sand  individuals  and  has  its  patrons  in  Georgia  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio.14 

In  spite  of  such  bright  prospects,  and  the  fact 
that  the  paper  kept  a  neutral  attitude  in  politics 
until  1800,  when  it  became  Federal,  the  journal 
was  constantly  threatened  with  financial  disaster, 
and  Isaiah  Thomas  bore  the  losses  from  three 
failures  within  a  few  years.  Dennie,  as  editor, 
soon  began  to  make  appeals  for  "punctual  pay 
ment,"  adding  of  the  rights  of  the  editor :  "Like 
every  other  industrious  workman,  he  has  a  right 
to  bread,  and  sometimes,  to  write  all  cheerily,  he 
ought  to  have  wine." 

Perhaps  too  much  of  Dennie's  time  and  money 
went  for  this  tonic  to  merry  writing.  At  least  so 

14  Farmer's  Museum,  December  4,  1 797  ;  quoted  also  by 
Aldrich,  op.  cit.,  p.  80. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  205 

the  veteran  newspaper  worker,  J.  T.  Buckingham, 
relates  in  citing  his  experiences  as  a  boy  in  the 
office  of  the  Farmer's  Museum.15  Here  he  was 
an  apprentice  at  sixteen  years,  but  found  that  he 
was  expected  "to  treat"  soon  after  he  entered  the 
office.  He  was  "nagged"  for  a  few  days,  until 
he  conformed  to  what  seemed  to  be  the  custom  of 
the  place.  He  said :  "I  spent  more  than  half  the 
small  amount  of  money  I  possessed  for  brandy, 
wine,  sugar,  eggs  and  crackers." 

Throughout  his  life  Dennie  was  accused  of 
overindulgence  in  light  wines,  but  his  best  friends 
defended  him  from  the  charge  of  being  an  inebri 
ate  in  any  sense.  In  this  connection  we  recall  a 
story  told  by  Griswold 16  about  Dennie  and 
Timothy  Dwight.  It  occurred  some  years  after 
Dennie  had  left  Walpole  and  was  editing  The 
Portfolio  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  days  of  limited 
stage  and  hotel  accommodations,  Timothy  Dwight, 
then  president  of  Yale,  arrived  at  a  New  Jersey 
inn  one  evening  and  was  able  to  secure  a  com 
fortable  room.  Soon  afterward  Dennie  reached 
the  same  tavern,  but  was  told  that  all  the  rooms 
were  occupied,  and  nearly  all  the  guests  "paired" 
except  the  college  president.  The  host  was  un 
willing  to  disturb  so  illustrious  a  man  by  offering 

10  Buckingham,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  I,  p.  25. 

19  Curiosities  of  [American]  Literature  (New  York,  1848), 
p.  Si,  52. 


206     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

him  a  roommate,  but  Dennie  begged  to  be  allowed 
to  plead  his  case  with  Dr.  Dwight,  saying :  "Al 
though  I  am  a  stranger  to  the  reverend  doctor 
perhaps  I  can  bargain  with  him  for  my  lodgings." 
President  Dwight  received  his  caller  with  digni 
fied  grace,  and  the  two  men  were  soon  discussing 
statesmen  and  authors  of  the  day,  although  Den 
nie  did  not  reveal  his  identity.  After  a  time 
Dwight  mentioned,  among  the  promising  writers, 
"Joseph  Dennie,  the  editor  of  The  Portfolio,  the 
Addison  of  the  United  States,  and  the  father  of 
American  Belles-Lettres."  Praising  his  writings, 
he  said:  "But  is  it  not  astonishing,  that  a  man 
of  such  genius,  fancy  and  feeling,  should  aban 
don  himself  to  the  inebriating  bowl  and  to  Bac 
chanalian  revels?"  "Sir,"  said  Dennie,  "you  are 
mistaken.  I  have  been  intimately  acquainted  with 
Dennie  for  several  years  and  I  never  knew  or  saw 
him  intoxicated."  "Sir,"  said  Dr.  Dwight,  "you 
err;  I  have  my  information  from  a  particular 
friend.  I  am  confident  that  I  am  right  and  that 
you  are  wrong."  Dropping  the  subject,  Dennie  led 
the  conversation  to  educational  topics  and  spoke 
of  Dr.  Dwight,  of  Yale,  as  "the  most  learned 
theologian,  first  logician  and  greatest  poet 
America  had  ever  produced.  But  there  are  traits 
in  his  character  unworthy  so  great  and  wise  a 
man — of  the  most  detestable  description — he  is 
the  greatest  bigot  and  dogmatist  of  the  age." 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  207 

"Sir,"  said  Dr.  Dwight,  with  anger,  "you  are 
grossly  mistaken.  I  am  intimately  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Dwight  and  I  know  to  the  contrary." 
"Sir,"  said  Dennie,  "you  are  mistaken.  I  have 
it  from  an  intimate  acquaintance  of  his,  who  I 
am  confident  would  not  tell  an  untruth."  Rising, 
with  dismissal  in  his  manner,  Dr.  Dwight  said : 
"No  more  slander;  I  am  Dr.  Dwight  of  whom 
you  speak."  "And  I,"  exclaimed  Dennie,  merrily, 
"am  Mr.  Dennie  of  whom  you  spoke." 

The  Farmer's  Museum  survived  its  financial 
crisis  in  the  spring  of  1797  and  recovered  to  a 
new  season  of  favor,  as  we  have  shown;  but 
Dennie  evidently  left  the  paper  in  charge  of  a  new 
manager,  Alexander  Thomas,  and  went  to  Boston 
for  a  few  weeks.  Two  letters  to  Hon.  Jeremiah 
Mason,  written  by  Dennie  from  Boston  in  August, 
1797,  are  of  interest  and  value  in  placing  his 
absence  from  Walpole,  and  also  as  indicating  his 
social  tastes.17  The  first  letter  was  dated  Boston, 
August  6,  1797: 

From  the  ennui  which  you  apprehended  I  should  ex 
perience  in  a  counting-room  I  was  relieved,  the  day  you 
left  town,  by  the  company  of  Jos.  Barrell  and  a  Mr. 
Morewood,  a  youthful  Englishman  of  some  promise.  But 
greater  things  were  reserved  for  me.  For  at  five  o'clock 
I  found  myself,  by  Barrell's  civility,  at  his  chateau  and 
by  his  daughter's  side.  Be  assured  I  was  very  eloquent 

"Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Proceedings,  March, 
1880,  Vol.  XVII,  pp.  362-65. 


208     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

on  this  joyful  occasion But  among  the  many  great 

events  which  agitate  this  puddle  called  Boston,  the  ar 
rival  of  John  Adams  is  one.  People  here  tell  me  it  is 
wise  to  make  my  rustic  bow  to  the  great  man,  and  I  must 
dine  with  the  king  tomorrow  and  drink  some  two  dozen 
such  perplexed  toasts  as  the  bungling  creatures  here 
give. 

From  the  tone  of  this  and  the  following  letter 
it  is  evident  that  Dennie  was  still  resentful  toward 
his  native  town.  The  second  letter  was  written 
August  25  of  the  same  year : 

I  have  had  the  honor  of  making  two  bows  to  the 
President  and  receiving  three.  About  three  hundred 
guests  were  bidden  to  the  feast,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  the  toasts  were  followed  by  clamorous  hootings  and 
applause  quite  in  the  French  style.  All  this  is  suited  to 
the  taste  of  the  Bostonians,  who  are  unquestionably  the 
merest  boys  at  all  kinds  of  play. 

I  find  strong  sense,  urban  manners,  and  Elsworth's 
energy  in  Cabot.  He  amuses  me  by  his  political  zeal,  and 
instructs  me  by  his  worldly  wisdom.  Moreover,  he 
giveth  good  dinners,  and,  sinner  that  I  am,  I  think 
partridge  at  least  as  palatable  as  politics. 

There  is  here  a  kind  of  would-be  literary  club.  It 
meets  each  Wednesday,  and  consists  of  certain  lawyers,  di 
vines,  quacks,  and  merchants They  are  all  lazy ; 

and  reversing  the  ancient  rule  of  the  symposium,  they 
convene  rather  to  eat,  than  talk,  together. 

On  his  return  to  Walpole  and  the  journal, 
Dennie  wrote  for  its  columns  one  of  his  cheerful 
sermons  from  the  text,  "Here  am  I,  for  thou 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  209 

didst  call  me.''18  Emphasizing  the  good  results 
of  his  sojourn  amid  the  fashions  and  culture  of 
the  city,  he  said : 

While  I  was  mingling  with  the  crowd  on  'change, 
lounging  in  the  book-seller's  shops,  arguing  in  a  coffee 
house,  or  chatting  with  sensible  women  round  a  supper- 
table,  I  was  in  fact  composing  Lay  Preachers.  The 
process,  though  invisible,  still  continued.  I  entered  hints 
in  my  note-book,  though  I  did  not  expand  them  in  the 
Museum  and  kept  for  future  use  the  fruit  of  my  ob 
servations,  as  my  prudent  and  tender  mother  used  to 
store  for  me  autumnal  russetings  to  bless  my  infant 
palate  in  the  scarce  and  spring  time. 

A  pointed  appeal  for  subscriptions  and  pay 
ment  of  the  same,  in  the  Farmer  s  Museum  for 
February  n,  1799,  showed  that  another  struggle 
for  existence  was  upon  the  journal.  As  a  ven 
ture  it  appeared  in  a  more  ornate  and  expanded 
form,  April  i,  1799.  For  this  issue  Dennie  wrote 
a  clever  remonstrance  against  the  silly  tricks  of 
"All  Fools'  Day,"  then  so  commonly  played.  He 
inquired :  "Why  mankind  are  so  anxious  to  form 
fools  when  the  business  seems  to  be  fully  done?" 
With  evidence  of  his  own  love  of  nature,  he 
advised : 

This  day  should  indeed  be  a  festal  one  but  not  dedi 
cated  to  "idiot  laughter"  and  the  petty  tricks  of  child 
hood.  It  should  be  a  kind  of  vernal  thanksgiving.  The 
goddess,  Flora,  rather  than  Folly,  should  have  our  vows. 

18  He  used  the  same  text  for  a  later  sermon  while  editing 
The  Portfolio. 


210     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

In  spite  of  the  discouragements  and  financial 
losses  which  Dennie  shared  with  his  partners  in 
the  vacillating  fortunes  of  this  journal,  he 
gained  some  returns  in  fame  and  money  from 
publishing  at  the  same  press,  in  1796,  the  first 
volume  of  The  Lay  Preacher.19  In  a  sentimental 
preface  to  these  collected  "sermons"  he  outlined 
his  aim  and  his  literary  hopes : 

To  instruct  the  villager,  was  his  primary  object. 
Hence,  an  easy  and  obvious  stile  was  indispensable.  To 
rise  to  the  gorgeous  phrase  of  BOLINGBROKE  would  have 
been  absurd,  to  sink  to  the  vulgarity  of  L'ESTRAXGE 
would  have  been  ignominious.  The  familiarity  of  FRANK 
LIN'S  manner,  and  the  simplicity  of  STERNE'S  proved 
most  auxiliary  to  his  design.  He  therefore,  adventured 
their  union.  Diffident  of  success,  and  prepared  for  cen 
sure,  he  will  not  be  surprised  at  a  harsh  sentence  from 
the  critical  tribunal.  The  vanity  of  authorship  has  al 
ready  caused  him  to  prove  the  negligence  of  his  NATAL 
TOWN ;  the  same  passion  now  urges  him  to  try 
suffrages  of  his  COUNTRY.  Should  this,  like  the 
former  attempts,  slide  rapidly  down  the  slope  of  obliv 
ion,  it  will  add  the  last  item  to  the  catalogue  of  literary 
disappointments  and  CURE  THE  AUTHOR. 

Through  the  circulation  of  this  volume,  and  of 
the  journals  where  his  contributions  had  appeared, 
Dennie  had  won  considerable  reputation  for 
mental  alertness  and  a  fluent  style,  according  to 
the  tastes  of  that  day.  He  was  offered  positions 

"  The  Lay  Preacher;  or,  Short  Sermons  for  Idle  Readers 
(Walpole,  1796;  132  pages,  i6mo)  ;  Preface,  pp.  iii,  iv. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  211 

in  journalism  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and 
possibly  elsewhere.  He  hoped  to  go  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Congress,  but  failed  to  win  in  the 
election.  While  he  was  debating  with  himself 
which  place  he  should  choose  as  editor,  another 
opportunity  came,  which  combined  a  larger, 
assured  salary  with  a  good  opportunity  to  wield 
both  political  and  literary  influence.  This  was  an 
offer  to  become  private  secretary  to  Timothy 
Pickering,  then  secretary  of  state.  The  corre 
spondence  which  led  to  the  acceptance  of  this 
position  by  Dennie,  affording  revelations  of  his 
egotism  and  flowery  language,  is  still  extant,  and 
is  printed  by  permission.20 

The  first  letter  was  from  Dennie  to  Lewis  R. 
Morris,  f rom  Walpole,  February  10,  1799.  After 
thanking  his  friend  for  recommending  him  to  the 
Department  of  State,  he  explains  his  unfitness  for 
any  other  departments : 

My  talents  are  not  warlike,  and  Mr.  McHenry  would 
find  me  a  miserable  tactician.  The  meanest  clerk  in  the 
office  of  Wolcott,21  would  detect  and  deride  my  fiscal 
inability ;  and  I  am  too  much  of  a  landsman  to  compre 
hend  the  nautical  lore  of  Stoddert If  I  enter  into 

20  These    letters    are    in    the    Massachusetts    Historical    So 
ciety ;   the   Pickering   Papers,   Vol.    X,    No.    644;    Vol.    XXIV, 
Nos.  45,   275,   287  ;  Vol.  XIII,  No,   557- 

21  References  here  are  to  the  secretaries  of  war,  the  treas 
ury,  and  the  navy  at  that  time.    Pickering  Papers,  Vol.  XXIV, 
No.  45- 


212     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

the  service  of  government  I  expect  that  exertion  will  be  re 
quired,  and  I  am  willing  to  make  it.  Considering  this  as 
a  stepping-stone  to  views  more  enlarged  and  ambitious, 
I  am  abundantly  sensible  that  these  will  never  be  grati 
fied,  without  a  satisfactory  fulfilment  of  my  initial  tasks. 

With  characteristic  vanity,  he  asks  to  be  called 
"confidential  secretary,"  saying : 

The  term  clerk  is  hardly  soothing  enough  to  my 
pride;  it  might  disgust  that  of  my  family;  and  you,  in 
your  noble  spirit  of  candour,  will  forgive,  what  only 
wears  the  appearance  of  dictation,  and  results  from  my 
well-known  love  to  whatever  has  gloss,  and  some  sort 
of  high  colouring  about  it. 

The  second  letter  in  the  series  is  from  Timothy 
Pickering  to  Lewis  R.  Morris,  Esq.,  dated  Phila 
delphia,  April  29,  1799: 

I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  2ist  respecting 
Mr.  Dennie.  I  have  room  for  him  in  my  office  and  shall 
now  be  glad  to  employ  him.  If  with  his  genius  and  taste, 
he  can  in  a  sufficient  degree  relinquish  the  pursuits  of 
literature,  and  submit  to  the  drudgery  of  business,  it 
will  give  me  much  pleasure  to  have  been  in  any  degree 
instrumental  in  availing  the  public  of  the  benefit  of  his 
talents.  His  compensation  may  be  eight  hundred,  or  a 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  according  to  the  time  his  health 
(which  I  understood  you  was  delicate)  may  permit  him 
to  apply  to  the  public  service. 

It  seems  as  if  Dennie  was  very  dilatory  after 
receiving  the  first  letter  from  Pickering,  just 
quoted,  both  in  his  answer  and  also  in  arrange 
ments  for  moving  to  Philadelphia.  His  reasons 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  213 

were  almost  hidden  under  the  verbiage  of  the  two 
letters  which  he  wrote  to  Pickering,  May  26, 
1799,  and  June  i,  1799.  In  the  first  he  accepts 
the  position  with  effusion  and  announces  that  he 
will  go  "expeditiously,"  but  adds,  in  apparent  con 
tradiction  of  the  last  word : 

But,  as  my  health  is  not  confirmed,  and  as  I  cannot 
definitely  ascertain  the  number  of  days,  business  here 
and  a  parent's  tenderness,  at  home,  may  detain  me,  you 
will  permit  me,  Sir,  to  apprize  you,  by  no  very  distant 
post,  of  the  time,  when  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of 
hearing  and  obeying  your  official  commands. 

In  the  second  letter  he  asks  for  further  extension 
of  time,  because  he  feels  that  he  must  give  three 
months'  notice  to  the  printers  of  the  Farmer's 
Museum,  saying:  "Good  faith  obliges  me  to 
comply  entirely  with  the  spirit  of  my  promise." 

The  result  of  Dennie's  service  in  the  office  of 
Pickering  may  be  best  revealed  in  a  letter  from 
the  latter  to  John  Marshall,  about  a  year  after  the 
above  correspondence.22  One  is  not  surprised  to 
read  here  the  criticisms  on  Dennie's  efficiency  as  a 
clerk : 

Mr.  Dennie  will  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you 
this  letter.  Desirous  of  being  at  the  seat  of  government, 
and  to  be  relieved  from  the  drudgery  of  editing  a  news 
paper  for  a  very  inadequate  compensation,  his  friend 
Gen'l  Morris  recommended  him  for  a  place  in  the  de- 

22  Letter  dated  June  27,  1800  (Pickering  Papers,  Vol. 
XIII,  No.  557). 


214    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

partment  of  State.  But  I  cannot,  because  I  ought  not, 
to  conceal  from  you,  that  Mr.  Dennie's  habits  and 
literary  turn — I  should  rather  say,  his  insatiable  appetite 
for  knowledge,  useful  as  well  as  ornamental,  render  his 
service  as  a  clerk  less  productive  than  the  labours  of 
many  dull  men. 

He  still  wishes,  however,  to  renew  his  attendance  in 
the  department  of  State,  to  make  a  fresh  essay  to  serve 
his  country,  provide  for  his  own  support,  and  promote 
his  ultimate  views  of  rendering,  in  another  line,  more 
important  benefits  to  his  fellow  citizens  and  to  mankind. 
He  therefore,  being  a  perfect  Stranger  to  you,  has  asked 
of  me  a  letter  of  introduction.  You  will  be  gratified  by 
the  proofs  he  will  give  you  of  an  enlightened  mind,  and 
with  his  admirable  manners ;  and  I  am  sure  you  will  be 
inclined  to  the  most  liberal  indulgence  of  his  laudable 
proposition. 

After  reading  this  last  letter,  one  can  better 
understand  why,  in  the  latter  part  of  1800,  Den- 
nie  again  turned  to  journalism  for  his  income, 
establishing  in  December  of  that  year  a  new 
journal  in  Philadelphia,  The  Portfolio.  He  was 
joined  in  this  enterprise  by  Asbury  Dickens.  He 
had  continued  his  contributions  of  occasional  ser 
mons  to  the  Farmer's  Museum,  and  had  written 
editorials  for  Fenno's  Gazette  of  the  United 
States,  the  Federal  organ  which  had  survived  and 
gained  in  favor,  after  its  experience  as  a  rival  of 
Freneau's  National  Gazette.  Dennie  modeled  his 
new  paper  after  The  Tablet,  the  early  Boston  ven 
ture,  but  The  Portfolio  was  long-lived  and  existed, 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  215 

in  varied  forms,  from  1801  to  i827.23  The 
motto,  chosen  from  Cowper,  might  well  apply  to 
all  journalistic  efforts  of  that  age: 

Various, — that    the   mind 

Of  desultory  man,  studious  of  change, 

And   pleas'd   with   novelty,   may  be   indulg'd. 

A  large  sheet  of  "Announcement"  accompa 
nied  the  first  number : 

A  YOUNG  MAN,  once  known  among  village-readers, 
as  the  humble  historian  of  the  hour,  the  conductor  of  a 
Farmers  Museum  and  a  Lay  Preacher's  Gazette, 
again  offers  himself  to  the  public  as  a  volunteer  editor. 
Having,  as  he  conceives,  a  right  to  vary,  at  pleasure,  his 
fictitious  name  he  now,  for  higher  reasons  than  any 
fickle  humour  might  dictate,  assumes  the  appelation  of 
OLD  SCHOOL.  Fond  of  this  title,  indicative  of  his 
moral,  political  and  literary  creed,  he  proposes  publishing 
every  Saturday,  on  a  super-royal  quarto  sheet 

A  NEW  WEEKLY  PAPER  to  be  called 

THE   PORT   FOLIO 
by  Oliver  Oldschool,   Esq. 

He  commented  on  the  Lilliputian  page  as  an 
experiment,  like  that  of  "a  saving  grocer,  who 
gives  of  his  goods  only  a  small  sample,"  and  de 
clared  his  purpose  to  offer  "something  tolerable 

23  From  1 80 1  to  1808  the  Portfolio  was  a  weekly;  from 
1809  to  1818  it  was  a  monthly;  in  later  years  its  publica 
tion  was  generally  as  a  monthly  or  a  quarterly.  Files  of  this 
journal  are  found  at  many  libraries  throughout  the  country  ; 
perfect  files  are  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Nicholas 
Biddle  succeeded  Dennie  as  editor. 


216    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

on  political,  literary,  and  transient  topics  and 
something  auxiliary  to  sound  principles  which, 
after  church,  'retired  leisure'  may  read  on  Sun 
day." 

Although  this  journal  was  essentially  designed 
as  a  literary  organ,  it  was  strongly  Federalist,  and 
was  disliked  and  parodied  by  Jefferson's  friends 
as  the  "Portable  Foolery."24  During  the  first 
two  years  Dennie  criticized  Jefferson  freely  and 
indulged  in  strictures  even  upon  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  For  such  fearless  politics  he 
was  arrested  and  charged,  in  1804,  with  being  the 
editor  of  "a  seditious  publication  against  the  gov 
ernment."  He  was  acquitted,  but  the  tone  of  his 
journal  henceforth  was  less  virulent.  He  was  a 
pronounced  Federalist  or  Republican  from  his 
youth,  and  would  not  listen  to  any  enticing  offers 
to  edit  Democratic  newspapers.  He  was  once 
offered  a  large  salary  to  edit  the  Independent 
Chronicle  of  Boston,  but  refused,  expressing  his 
convictions  in  extravagant  language,  thus : 

If  he  had  offered  me  $120,000,000  annually  to  conduct  a 
Democratic  paper,  I  must  have  refused  the  offer.  It 
would  have  belied  my  feelings,  my  habits,  my  principles, 
my  conscience.  I  should  have  been  an  infinite  apostate." 

Dennie  was  a  social  favorite  in  Philadelphia 

14  See  Scharf  and  Westcott,  History  of  Philadelphia  (Phila 
delphia,  1884),  Vol.  I,  pp.  508,  509. 

28  W.  W.  Clapp,  Sketch  of  Dennie,   1882. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  217 

from  the  first  days  there.  He  was  instrumental 
in  forming  the  Tuesday  Club,  a  social  organiza 
tion  with  literary  aims.  He  was  a  fine  story 
teller,  and  was  in  demand  for  convivial  occasions 
wherever  he  might  be.  One  of  the  vivid  pic 
tures  of  Dennie,  as  a  companion,  is  given  by 
Josiah  Quincy,  of  Boston,26  who  was  a  college 
classmate  of  Dennie  and  a  friend  throughout  life. 
Speaking  of  Dennie's  mental  equipment,  as  com 
pared  with  that  of  other  classmates,  this  friend 
said: 

The  most  talented,  taking  light  literature  as  the 
standard,  was  Joseph  Dennie,  whose  acquaintance  with  the 
best  English  classics  was  uncommon  at  that  period.  His 
imagination  was  vivid,  and  he  wrote  with  great  ease  and 

felicity While   at   college   he   might   unquestionably 

have  taken  the  highest  rank  in  his  class,  for  he  had  great 
happiness  both  in  writing  and  elocution;  but  he  was  negli 
gent  in  his  studies  and  not  faithful  to  the  genius  with 
which  nature  had  endowed  him. 

In  reminiscence  of  his  father's  conversations 
regarding  Dennie,  Edmund  Quincy  wrote: 

Mr.  Dennie  was  a  most  charming  companion,  brilliant 
in  conversation,  fertile  in  allusion  and  quotation,  abound 
ing  in  wit,  quick  at  repartee,  and  of  only  too  jovial  a  dis 
position.  My  father  used  to  tell  of  the  gay  dinners  which 
celebrated  the  not  infrequent  visits  Mr.  Dennie  made  him 
when  he  was  keeping  house  with  his  mother.  On  these 
white  days  he  would  summon  the  flower  of  the  youth  of 

28  Life  of  Josiah  Quincy,  by  his  son,  Edmund  Quincy  (Bos 
ton,  1867),  p.  30. 


2i8    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Boston  to  enjoy  the  society  of  their  versatile  friend,  and 
the  festivity  which  set  in  at  the  sober  hour  of  two  would 
reach  far  into  the  night  before  the  party  were  willing  to 
break  up. 

When  The  Portfolio  was  established,  Dennie 
summoned  all  his  friends  with  literary  tastes  to 
contribute,  and  the  columns  of  the  journal,  if 
carefully  studied,  reveal  some  interesting  writers 
and  men  of  prominence  in  affairs  and  science. 
General  Thomas  Cadwallader  wrote  translations 
from  Horace ;  Joseph  Hopkinson  contributed  both 
prose  and  verse ;  Charles  Brockden  Brown  and  his 
brother-in-law,  John  Blair  Linn,  were  among  the 
writers  whose  authorship  can  be  attested.  Con 
venor  Morris,  Samuel  Ewing,  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
E.  Hall  were  other  writers  of  the  day  who  assisted 
Dennie.  Josiah  Quincy  contributed  a  series  of 
papers,  signed  "Climenole,"  satirical  and  spicy; 
their  authorship  was  long  a  secret.27  As  in  pre 
vious  ventures,  Dennie  had  support  from  "The 
Shop  of  Colon  and  Spondee;"  other  writers  con 
tributed  more  serious  reviews  and  accounts  of 
travels.  Among  the  latter  sort  were  "Letters 
from  Silesia,"  found  in  earlier  issues  of  The  Port 
folio.  These  letters  were  by  John  Quincy  Adams, 
who  was  then  traveling  abroad  with  his  wife,  on 
account  of  the  latter's  ill  health.  The  letters  came 

"Of.  cit.,  p.  33. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  219 

into  Dennie's  possession  in  a  peculiar  way.28  They 
were  written  to  the  brother  of  Mr.  Adams  in 
Philadelphia.  He  was  a  friend  of  Dennie,  and  the 
latter,  when  allowed  to  read  the  letters,  was  so 
delighted  that  he  begged  to  include  them  un 
signed  in  his  journal.  The  owner  consented,  and 
they  appeared  in  twenty-nine  numbers,  forming 
an  interesting  feature  of  The  Portfolio.  At  first 
the  writer  of  the  letters  did  not  know  of  their 
use ;  later  he  was  powerless  or  unwilling  to  inter 
fere.  They  became  so  popular  that  an  unknown 
individual  reprinted  them  in  London,  for  his  own 
profit,  in  1804,  and  three  years  later  they  were 
translated  into  German  and  French. 

Among  the  Adams  papers,  owned  by  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  are  two  unpublished  letters  from 
Dennie  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  which  I  have 
been  permitted  to  use.  The  first,  dated  Septem 
ber  17,  1804,  refers  to  the  London  publication  of 
these  Letters.  It  is  in  Dennie's  usual  fluent  and 
obsequious  style: 

I  perceive  by  the  Public  papers,  that  "Letters  from 
Silesia,"  &c.,  have  been  published  in  your  name  in  the 
city  of  London.  You  will  add  to  those  numerous  acts  of 
kindness,  with  which  you  have  often  obliged  and  honoured 
me,  if  by  the  return  of  Post,  you  will  mention  whether 
this  book  has  been  thus  printed  with  your  consent.  Your 
correspondence  with  the  Port  Folio  has  been  for  some 

28  See  Memoirs  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  edited  by  Charles 
Francis  Adams  (Philadelphia,  1877),  Vol.  I,  p.  240,  241. 


220    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

time,  relinquished.  Be  assured,  Sir,  I  employ  no  false, 
or  dissembling  compliment,  when  I  express  the  delight  I 
feel  in  perusing  any  of  your  literary  productions,  and  my 
sorrow  that  any  cause  should  for  a  single  week,  deprive 
me  of  the  valued  assistance  of  a  classical  coadjutor. 

Whatever  you  choose  to  write  for  my  Journal,  I 
will  always  promptly  impart  to  the  Public.  I  inhibit  no 
topics,  I  suggest  no  style;  but  I  intreat  that  you  will  still 
continue  to  benefit  me,  by  the  dictates  of  your  Judgement, 
and  the  productions  of  your  Taste. 

The  second  letter  was  in  answer  to  a  word  of 
remonstrance  from  John  Quincy  Adams  against 
the  publication,  in  The  Portfolio,  of  such  unre 
liable,  inferior  articles  as  a  series  entitled  "The 
British  Spy,"  which  had  appeared  during  the 
autumn  of  this  same  year,  i8o4.29  The  letters 
had  some  gossipy  passages,  designed  to  ferment 
political  feeling  regarding  Theophilus  Parsons,  as 
tool  of  a  junto  and  of  John  Adams.  Dennie  has 
made  the  only  defense  that  I  have  found  in  this 
interesting  letter  to  Mr.  Adams : 
My  dear  Friend. 

A  bundle  of  lucubrations  with  the  title  of  the  "British 
Spy,"  was  left  at  my  lodgings,  by  some  person  unknown. 
They  were  inclosed  in  a  letter,  without  a  signature,  and  I 
was  requested  to  give  them  a  place  in  the  Port  Folio. 

"See  the  Portfolio,  Letter  II,  November  10,  1804.  The 
inference  was  that  Parsons  refused  the  appointment  offered 
by  John  Adams.  In  a  note,  after  Letter  IV,  November  24, 
1804,  Dennie  urged  the  writer  to  verify  his  statements,  cor 
rected  this  special  one,  but  praised  the  letters.  There  were 
no  more,  however. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  221 

Occupied  with  the  care  of  an  edition  of  Shakespeare,  and 
of  Sir  W.  Jones,  the  only  paper  I  perused  was  the  first 
of  the  Series.  Though  I  was  offended  by  the  tumid  and 
Asiatic  stile,  which  the  anonymous  author  thought  proper 
to  employ,  I  thought  it  would  not  be  disagreeable  to  the 
Public,  and  possibly  might  be  pleasant  to  the  Bostonians, 
if  I  gave  a  place  to  what  from  a  very  cursory  glance,  I 
deemed  not  dishonourable  to  my  native  town. 

The  second  letter  containing  the  offensive  paragraph, 
of  which  you  so  justly  complain,  was  not  perused  by  me, 
until  after  publication.  The  instant  that  I  read  it,  and 
some  days  prior  to  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  expostula 
tion,  although  I  did  not  know  with  precision,  the  state  of 
facts,  I  deemed  the  paragraph  a  gossiping  anecdote  of 
Jacobinical  origin,  I  estimated  it  as  a  lye,  accordingly, 
and  resolved,  at  the  end  of  the  series,  hitherto  received, 
which  will  be  printed,  on  the  Saturday  of  the  current 
week,  to  express  my  frank  opinion  of  the  falsity  of  the 
article,  and  to  warn  the  author  against  hazarding  such 
random  calumny.  I  feel  with  very  acute  sensibility 
wounded,  that  you  should  suppose  for  an  instant,  that  I 
could  willingly  lend  a  lye  the  confidence  of  Truth.  If  you 
knew  me  more  intimately  you  would  very  distinctly  per 
ceive  that  I  was  never  found  to  retail  Scandal  for  any 
individual,  or  any  Junto;  and  that  though  I  have  lived 
more  than  Thirty  years  in  a  Republic,  I  have  not  yet 
learned  to  be  ungrateful  to  those  who  have  showed  me 
kindness. 

Within  the  columns  of  The  Portfolio  were 
selected  passages  from  contemporary  English 
writers  of  both  prose  and  verse,  with  interpreta 
tive  comments.  On  December  19,  1801,  as  an  ex 
ample  appeared  Wordsworth's  "Lucy  Gray"  and 


222     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"Eglantine,"  with  praises  for  "the  genuine  poet 
who  has  forsaken  the  necromantic  realms  of  Ger 
man  extravagance,  and  the  torrid  zone  of  Delia 
Cruscan  ardour  and  has  recalled  erring  readers 
from  sounds  to  things,  from  fancy  to  the  heart." 
What  a  pity  that  Dennie  could  not  have  applied 
to  his  own  style  some  of  the  Wordsworthian 
simplicity  and  clearness ! 

The  visit  of  Thomas  Moore  to  Philadelphia, 
in  the  spring  of  1812,  was  an  event  of  great  sig 
nificance  in  the  life  of  Dennie.  Moore's  grateful 
memories  of  this  American  writer  are  almost  the 
only  words  of  recognition  given  to  Dennie  by  any 
author  outside  the  narrow  circle  of  his  friends. 
Moore  had  been  disappointed  in  his  reception  at 
New  York  and  Washington,  but  the  cordiality 
with  which  he  was  greeted  by  Dennie  and  his 
coterie  did  much  to  soften  his  bitterness.  Not 
alone  was  he  feted  during  the  few  days  of  his 
stay  in  Philadelphia,  but  his  coming  was  heralded 
in  The  Portfolio  for  some  weeks  before  his  ar 
rival.  As  early  as  April  21,  1804,  Moore's  poem 
"To  Julia" — one  of  many  of  this  title — was 
printed  with  the  note  of  praise  for  "this  recent 
poet  who  is  much  admired  in  England  for  the 
singular  sweetness  of  his  versification,  and  for  a 
certain  glow  in  his  descriptions,  mildly  ardent, 
like  the  setting  suns  of  Claude,"  True  to  his 
promise,  in  another  issue  Dennie  selected  many 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  223 

examples  of  Moore's  poems,  especially  from  the 
translations  of  Anacreon.80 

Moore  appreciated  his  attentions  in  Phila 
delphia,  in  June,  1804.  To  Dennie's  journal  he 
contributed  freely  many  of  the  poems,  which  ap 
peared  later  in  English  magazines,  but  were 
printed  here  first,  often  with  the  prefatory  words, 
"Printed  from  the  Author's  Manuscript."  In 
The  Portfolio  for  July  14  is  "A  Birthday  Song" 
by  Moore  which  refers  to  these  cordial,  new 
found  friends : 

In  every  eye  around  I  mark, 
The   feelings  of  the  heart  o'erflowing; 

From  every  soul  I  catch  the  spark 
Of    sympathy,   in    friendship   flowing. 

More  familiar,  as  testimony  by  Moore,  are  his 
"Lines  on  Leaving  Philadelphia,"  which  were  sent 
in  a  letter  to  Dennie,  July  2,  1804,  and  first 
printed  in  his  journal.  The  poem  was  dedicated 
to  Mrs.  Joseph  Hopkinson,  whose  sympathetic 
singing  of  Moore's  songs  had  assured  him, 
though  a  stranger,  that — 
The  lays  of  his  boyhood  had  stol'n  to  their  ear, 

And  they  loved  what  they  knew  of  so  humble  a  name; 
And  they  told  him,  with  flattery,  welcome  and  dear, 

That  they  found  in  his  heart  something  better  than  fame. 

30  Copies  of  The  Portfolio  from  April  to  September,  1804, 
contain  many  of  Moore's  poems,  with  comment,  as  "The 
Wedding  Ring,"  "To  the  Invisible  Girl,"  "Rondeau,"  "Written 
in  a  Common-Place  Book,"  and  many  poems  "To  Julia." 


224    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  stranger  is  gone — but  he  will  not  forget, 

When  at  home  he  shall  talk  of  the  toils  he  has  known, 

To  tell,  with  a  sigh,  what  endearments  he  met. 
As  he  stray'd  by  the  wave  of  the  Schuylkill  alone." 

Moore  kept  his  pledge  of  remembrance.  He 
wrote  his  mother  about  his  Philadelphia  friends 
and  gave  them  special  mention  in  the  metrical 
"Letter  to  the  Hon.  W.  R.  Spencer,"  where  he 
extolled 

ye  sacred  few, 

Whom  late  by  Delaware's  green  banks  I  knew; 
Whom,  known  and  loved  through  many  a  social  eve, 
'Twas  bliss  to  live  with  and  'twas  pain  to  leave. 
Not  with  more  joy  the  lonely  exile  scann'd 
The  writing  traced  upon  the  desert's  sand, 
Where  his  lone  heart  but  little  hop'd  to  find 
One  trace  of  life,  one  stamp  of  human  kind, 
Than  did  I  hail  the  pure,  th'  enlightened  zeal, 
The  strength  to  reason,  and  the  warmth  to  feel, 
The  manly  polish  and  th'  illumined  taste, 
Which — mid  the  melancholy,  heartless  waste 
My   foot  has  travers'd,— oh,  ye  sacred   few ! 
I  found  by  Delaware's  green  banks  with  you. 

To  his  mother,  Moore  wrote  of  his  reception 
in  Philadelphia :  "It  is  the  only  place  in  America 
which  can  boast  any  literary  activity."  82  In  the 

"  This  poem,  in  Moore's  handwriting,  and  two  letters 
by  him  to  Dennie  are  owned  by  Mrs.  Oliver  Hopkinson.  They 
were  printed  in  the  Critic,  June,  1888. 

**  Memoirs,  Journals  and  Correspondence  of  Thomas  Moore 
(London,  1856),  Vol.  I,  p.  164. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  225 

same  vein  of  unjust  criticism,  but  flattering  ex 
perience,  he  said  in  the  appendix  to  his  poems : 

In  the  society  of  Mr.  Dennie  and  his  friends  at  Phila 
delphia,  I  passed  the  few  agreeable  moments  which  my 
tour  through  the  states  afforded  me.  Mr.  Dennie  has  suc 
ceeded  in  diffusing  through  this  cultivated  little  circle 
that  love  for  good  literature  and  sound  politics  which  he 
feels  so  zealously  himself  and  which  is  very  rarely  the 
characteristic  of  his  countrymen. 

Among  other  allusions  in  Moore's  letters  to  his 
mother  is  one  to  "two  or  three  little  poems  of  a 
flattering  kind"  which  were  addressed  to  him  in 
Philadelphia.  These  may  be  found  in  The  Port 
folio  for  September  8,  22,  and  29,  1804.  The 
third  was  an  ambitious  ode,  sung  at  a  dinner  to 
Moore  just  as  he  was  leaving  the  city.  In  mock- 
heroic  verse,  the  gods  are  represented  in  conclave 
over  the  seeming  dulness  of  earth,  and  the  need 
of  some  new  spirit  of  poetry  to  waken  man,  as 
did  Anacreon  of  old.  To  their  suggestions  Jupi 
ter  replies  in  the  concluding  stanza : 

I  love  well  these  mortals,  though  sometimes  they  err, 
And  blessings  abundant  upon  them  will  pour; 

The  promise  thus  made,  not  an  instant  defer, 

You  ask  for  Anacreon,  but  I  will  give  MOORE.33 

By  inheritance  Dennie  had  slight  endurance, 
and  his  life  of  conviviality,  while  it  never  became 
debauchery,  tended  to  reduce  his  vigor.  Without 

33  These   poems    were    signed    "Mercutio"    and    C.    H — d. 


226     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

the  restraints  or  the  comforts  of  a  home-life,  he 
was  careless  and  irregular  in  his  hours  of  meals 
and  sleep,  and  often  seemed  desperate  to  snatch 
all  the  zestful  pleasures  which  he  could.  The 
inevitable  day  of  reckoning  came,  and  he  died  in 
January,  1812,  when  only  forty-three  years  old. 
Various  eulogistic  paragraphs  appeared  soon 
after  his  death  in  the  press  of  Philadelphia  and 
New  York.  His  own  journal  devoted  much  space 
to  a  "Mortuary,"  34  appended  to  the  February 
number.  A  poem,  full  of  absurd  over-praise  and 
strained  meters,  was  followed  by  a  prose  eulogy 
somewhat  less  extravagant,  in  which  his  personal 
traits  and  his  aim  throughout  life  were  duly  em 
phasized.  Of  the  former  the  writer  said : 

So  full  of  urbanity  and  gentleness  were  his  manners 
— so  amiable  his  deportment,  that  none  could  approach, 
without  loving  a  man  from  whom  there  never  escaped  an 
unkind  expression — who,  in  his  graver  mood,  was  an  in 
structive  friend,  and  in  his  social  hours,  a  most  gay  and 
captivating  companion. 

The  chief  motive  of  his  life  was  recalled,  in 
language  too  ornate  to  be  effective,  but  with  truth 
in  the  thought : 

The  great  purpose   of   all   his  exertions,  the   uniform 

"The  Portfolio,  February,  1812;  12  pages  with  black  bor 
der,  signed  "A."  Possibly  this  was  Paul  Allen,  who  was 
associated  with  Dennie  during  the  last  months  of  his  editor 
ship.  Premonitions  of  Dennie's  illness  and  death  were  in  the 
last  volume  of  The  Portfolio  which  he  edited. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  227 

pursuit  of  his  life,  was  to  disseminate  among  his  country 
men  a  taste  for  elegant  literature,  to  give  to  education  and 
to  letters  their  proper  elevation  in  the  public  esteem,  and 
reclaiming  the  youth  of  America  from  the  low  career  of 
sordid  interests  to  fix  steadfastly  their  ambition  on  objects 
of  a  more  exalted  character.  In  this  honourable  enterprize, 
he  stood  at  first  almost  alone.  But  such  is  the  power  of  a 
single  mind  in  awakening  the  talents  of  a  whole  nation,  so 
easily  may  the  pliant  materials  of  public  opinion  be 
moulded  by  the  plastic  hand  of  genius,  that  the  establish 
ment  of  his  work  may  be  considered  as  forming  an  sera 
in  the  literary  history  of  America.35 

Six  years  after  the  death  of  Dennie  an  admir 
ing  friend  tried  to  publish  a  series  of  New  and 
Original  Lay  Sermons**  collected  from  his  writ 
ings  in  The  Portfolio.  The  avowed  purpose  was 
to  get  money  for  a  monument.  The  price  was  to 
be  five  cents  a  copy,  or  two  dollars  a  year.  The 
first  sermon  chosen  was  one  of  his  boldest  in 
theme,  from  the  text  II  Sam.  6:20 — the  unique 
explanation  of  the  treatment  of  Michal  by 
David.  Whether  because  of  this  unfortunate 
initial  "sermon,"  or  for  some  other  reason,  the 
scheme  did  not  succeed.  The  monument  was 
erected  later  by  friends,  but  the  failure  of  this 
series  was  symbolized  in  the  bizarre  illustration 
at  the  end  of  this  first  issue — a  monument,  a  book, 

"The  Portfolio,   February,    1812,   pp.   186-187. 
38  New  and  Original  Essays  by  Joseph  Dennie   (Philadel 
phia,  1818).     Only  one  has  been  found  in  this  series. 


228     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

and  an  ink-bottle  jumbled  together  above  the 
phrase,  "The  Relicks  of  Dennie." 

There  are  two  collective  editions  of  his  Lay 
Sermons,  which  were  clearly  modeled  after  those 
of  ''Dr.  Yorick."  They  do  not  include  the  larger 
portion  of  Dennie's  essays  of  this  type,  but  they 
contain  representative  examples.  The  first  vol 
ume,  published  at  Walpole  in  1796,  was  the 
expression  of  the  earlier,  more  spontaneous 
essays.  The  second  collection,  edited  by  his 
friend  in  Philadelphia,  John  E.  Hall,  five  years 
after  Dennie's  death,  revealed  more  care  in  selec 
tion  and  form.  This  same  friend  included  others 
of  Dennie's  writings,  with  a  sketch  of  his  life,  in 
The  Philadelphia  Souvenir  for  i826.37 

In  reading  Dennie's  Sermons  the  question 
sometimes  arises :  Was  the  author  serious  or 
cynical? — for  wit  and  earnestness  are  mingled 
throughout.  He  was  sincere  in  purpose;  never 
cynical  with  intent  to  injure.  Sometimes  he 
chose  an  unusual  theme,  like  that  used  in  the  first 
essay  of  the  early  collection.  Taking  for  his  sub 
ject,  "Two  is  Better  than  One,"  he  makes  a  plea 
for  second  marriages,  under  fitting  conditions,  and 
illustrates  his  text  by  examples  from  history  and 
literature.  Another  good  "Sermon,"  among  the 
earlier  ones,  was  inspired  by  political  dangers 
and  gave  warning,  from  the  text :  "In  those  days 

"  The  Philadelphia  Souvenir,  1826,  pp.  70-93,  96-136. 


T  H 


PRINTED  AT  WALPQLE,  NBW 

BY    DAVIDCARLISLE,    Ju». 

And  Sold  at  his  EOO.<STOR.E. 


LAY  PREACHER; 

O  R 
SHORT      S'r  £  JUT  0  JVS, 

FOR 


IDLE         READERS. 


,   SEEING    W  E    HAVE     THIS     MINISTRV— 
WE    ?A1NT    NOT."  ST.    PAUL. 


Published aeccrding  to  ACT  of  CONGRESS. 


1796. 


Title-page  of  first  edition  of  The  Lay  Preacher,  1796;  from 
copy  in  American  Antiquarian  Society  Library. 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  229 

there  was  no  king  in  Israel ;  every  man  did  what 
was  right  in  his  own  eyes."  The  last  essay  in  this 
first  collection  is  worthy  of  special  mention.  Here 
he  chose  for  a  theme  the  prison  experiences  of 
Joseph.  After  some  passages  of  exposition,  he 
applied  his  text  to  modern  life : 

Yet   did   not   the   Chief    Butler   remember   Joseph   but 

Forgat   him Many   are   the   promises   of   the    chief 

butlers,  the  CHESTERFIELDS,  the  smooth-tongued  men 
of  the  world.  They  keep  them  too,  But  so  close,  that  when 
the  day  of  performance  arrives,  not  even  their  owner 
can  find  them, — mislaid  in  some  obscure  corner  of  mem 
ory's  chest! 

There  is  surely  not  more  ground  for  the  charge 
of  irreverence  against  Dennie  than  there  is  for 
the  same  accusation  regarding  the  essays  by  Swift 
and  Sterne.  To  some  minds  there  is  an  objec 
tion  to  paraphrasing  the  Bible  words  in  text  and 
illustration.  Beyond  this  general  criticism,  there 
is  no  offense  against  religious  sentiment,  nor  are 
the  texts  treated  with  levity.  Dennie  had  a  true, 
lifelong  reverence  for  the  Bible ;  it  gave  him  much 
comfort  in  his  last  hours,  as  it  had  in  the  earlier 
years  when,  he  declared,  it  brought  him  "medicine 
for  the  mind."  In  the  later  collection  of  his  Ser 
mons,  the  second  one,  "On  the  Pleasures  of 
Study,"  with  text  from  Rev.  1:1,  is  a  direct  plea 
for  Bible-reading.  His  exposition  of  the  biblical 
stories  was  reverent  and  often  illumining,  as 


230    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Paul's  voyage  to  Rome,  Samuel  and  Samson, 
Ruth  and  Naomi.  Sometimes  he  used  episodes 
like  the  sufferings  of  Job,  Jonah's  lament  for  his 
gourd,  or  Paul's  reproof  to  Athens,  as  texts  for 
moralizing  upon  adversity,  fret  fulness,  and  scan 
dal.  In  reciting  the  story  of  Samuel's  mother, 
fashioning  yearly  the  little  coat  which  she  carried 
to  the  boy,  he  achieved  pictorial  effects.  Sane 
precepts  on  the  best  ways  to  keep  the  sabbath  are 
found  in  the  twentieth  "sermon"  in  the  later  col 
lection,  with  text  from  Amos  8:5.  Remonstrat 
ing  against  the  formal  "yawning"  endurance  of 
the  sabbath,  he  urged  joyful  reverence,  whether  in 
service  indoors  or  long  walks  in  the  country  as  a 
means  of  healthy  worship. 

In  quantity,  the  literature  of  permanent  value 
produced  by  Dennie  is  small.  As  an  influence  his 
work  was  of  more  importance.  His  essays  were 
novel  and  stimulating;  uneven  in  interest,  yet  sel 
dom  wearisome.  They  lack  the  epigrammatic 
value  of  Franklin's  essays  and  those  of  the  best 
English  writers  whom  Dennie  most  admired. 
They  are  burdened  with  verbosity,  and  sometimes 
seem  affected  rather  than  sincere.  On  the  whole, 
however,  they  were  written  with  an  earnest  desire 
to  elevate  the  literary  tastes  of  his  countrymen, 
and  to  stimulate  them  to  read  more  of  the  higher 
literature  from  which  he  took  his  allusions  and 
quotations.  His  essays  give  us  glimpses  of  the 


JOSEPH  DENNIE  231 

intellectual  and  social  tastes  of  his  age.  As 
journalist  and  essayist  he  was  animated  with  a 
hope  that  he  might  inspire  young  men  to  read 
more  intelligently  and  write  more  "elegantly." 
As  one  approaches  his  monument  in  St.  Peter's 
churchyard  in  Philadelphia,  he  sees  from  a  dis 
tance  the  wreath  which  encircles  the  name,  and 
testifies  to  the  warm  friendship  with  which  Den- 
nie  was  regarded.  The  epitaph,  a  long  one,  was 
written  by  John  Quincy  Adams.38  Many  of  the 
sculptured  words  seem  too  effusive  for  our  judg 
ment  to  accept,  but  no  one  can  question  the  truth 
of  one  of  the  last  lines : 

He  devoted  his  Life  to  the  Literature  of  his  Country. 

88  Memoirs  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  edited  by  Charles  Fran 
cis  Adams  (Philadelphia,  1877),  Vol.  IX,  p.  239. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP:    THE  BEGINNINGS 
OF  DRAMA 


VII 

WILLIAM  DUNLAP:    THE  BEGINNINGS 
OF  DRAMA 

Among  the  research  societies,  which  seek  to 
find  and  preserve  facts  and  reminiscences  in 
American  history  and  literature,  the  Dunlap 
Society  has  a  specific  purpose,  as  outlined  in  its 
first  printed  report : 

The  Dunlap  Society  has  been  named  in  honor  of 
William  Dunlap,  one  of  the  first  of  American  dramatists, 
one  of  the  earliest  of  American  managers,  and  the  fore 
most  historian  of  the  American  Theatre.  It  has  been 
founded  by  a  Committee  of  Students  of  the  American 
Stage,  who  are  also  collectors  of  American  dramatic 
books  and  prints.1 

The  engraving  from  Dunlap's  portrait  of  himself, 
owned  by  the  National  Academy  of  Design,  is  a 
fitting  frontispiece  to  this  report.  Two  of  Dun- 
lap's  plays,  The  Father  and  Andre,  have  been 
edited  and  republished  by  this  memorial  society. 

In  order  that  Dunlap  may  have  his  true  place 
among  the  pioneer  dramatists  of  America,  we 
must  review  briefly  the  labored,  and  almost  for 
gotten,  ventures  in  early  drama.2  Probably  the 

1  Biennial  Reports  of  the  Dunlap  Society,   1888,  p.   n. 

2  Exhaustive  outlines  of  early  American  drama  have  been 
made  by  Oscar  Wegelin  in  Early  American  Plays  (New  York, 

235 


236     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

first  attempt  at  drama  written  on  American  soil 
was  Cornelia,  by  Governor  William  Berkeley,  of 
Virginia,  which  was  acted  in  London  in  1662,  but 
probably  was  not  printed.  Another  Colon 
ial  governor,  Robert  Hunter,  of  New  York,  wrote 
a  political  satire  in  three  acts,  in  1714,  entitled 
Androborus;  or,  The  Man-Hater.  He  was 
assisted  by  Lewis  Morris.  This  early  play  was 
owned  for  many  years  by  David  Garrick,  and 
later  was  in  the  library  of  the  Duke  of  Devon 
shire.  A  play,  The  Suspected  Daughter,  by 
"T.  T.,"  was  printed  in  Boston  in  1751,  but  it 
has  not  been  traced.  The  friend  of  Franklin, 
Thomas  Godfrey,  used  the  popular  myth  of  buried 
piratical  treasure  as  theme  for  a  broad  farce,  The 
Prince  of  Parthia,  in  1759.  In  London,  a  few 
years  later,  a  popular  play  was  Ponteach,  which 
related  the  unique  adventures  of  its  author,  Major 
Robert  Rogers,  an  Indian  ranger. 

The  early  incidents  of  the  Revolution  were 
recited  in  bombastic  attempts  at  drama.  General 
John  Burgoyne  had  a  little  literary  talent  and 
more  vanity.  To  please  the  ladies  and  British 
officers,  during  the  military  investment  of  Boston, 
he  wrote  a  farce,  The  Blockheads,  for  which 
Major  Andre  composed  a  comic  prologue.  When 

1905  ;  second  edition,  with  bibliography  of  Dunlap),  and 
Paul  Leicester  Ford  in  Netv  England  Magazine,  February, 
1894.  ("Beginnings  of  American  Dramatic  Literature.") 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  237 

the  fortunes  of  war  were  reversed,  and  the 
British  were  in  derision  as  foolish  adventurers, 
an  answering  satire  in  dialogue  form,  The  Block 
heads,  appeared.  Paul  Leicester  Ford  has 
assigned  this  to  Mercy  Warren.  The  prologue 
suggests  her  style  of  invective : 

By  Yankees  frighted  too!     Oh,  dire  to  say! 
Why  Yankees  sure  at  red  coats  faint  away ! 
Oh,  yes — they  thought  so  too — for  lackaday, 
Their  general  turn'd  the  blockade  to  a  play; 
Poor   vain   poltroons — with  justice  we'll   retort, 
And  call  them  blockheads  for  their  idle  sport. 

Among  other  plays  which  recall  the  earlier 
years  of  the  war  were  The  Battle  of  Brooklyn, 
an  unassigned  farce ;  The  Fall  of  British  Tyranny, 
by  John  Leacock;  The  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,3 
by  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  and  The  Motley 
Assembly,  a  satire  on  prominent  Loyalist  fam 
ilies.  Possibly  this  last  was  by  Mrs.  Mercy 
Warren,  who  wrote  two  of  the  popular  dramas 
of  the  same  period,  The  Adulateur  and  The 
Group*  When  the  stress  of  feeling  had  some 
what  lessened,  there  were  lighter  farces,  operas, 
and  drawing-room  dialogues,  which  portrayed  or 
satirized  national  traits.  Among  such  was  the 

sThe  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill:  A  Dramatic  Piece  of  Five 
Acts  in  Heroic  Measure.  By  a  Gentleman  of  Maryland 
(Philadelphia:  Bell,  1776). 

4  The  Adulateur  (Boston,  1773)  ;  The  Group  (Boston,  1775; 
8vo). 


238     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

anonymous  opera,  The  Blockheads;  or,  the  Fortu 
nate  Contractor,  acted  in  1782-83  in  London  and 
New  York.5  Some  crude  plays  were  written  by 
the  Yale  tutor  Barnabas  Bidwell,  which  were 
acted  in  the  colleges.  One  of  these,  The  Merce 
nary  Match,  in  1785,  was  very  popular  because 
it  had  a  strong  American  note,  in  remonstrance 
against  the  marriage  of  an  American  girl  to  a 
wealthy  foreigner. 

With  the  exception  of  the  patriotic  satires,  all 
plays  that  were  written  and  acted  during  the  war 
were  disapproved  by  the  anxious,  impoverished 
patriots  as  a  waste  of  money  and  time.  The 
American  Company  of  actors,  who  had  enjoyed 
a  season  of  favor  in  New  York  and  elsewhere 
before  the  war,  was  forced  to  the  South  and  to 
Jamaica,  until  1785,  when  they  reappeared  in  New 
York.  At  first,  on  their  return,  they  gave 
"Courses  of  Lectures,"  and  gradually  came  into 
the  field  of  drama  again.  The  favorite  member 
of  this  company,  Hallam,  had  been  joined  by  his 
cousin,  Wignell.  The  latter  made  a  great  success 
of  the  character  of  Jonathan,  a  typical  Yankee,  in 
Royall  Tyler's  The  Contrast,  the  first  distinctively 
American  drama  in  background,  motive,  and 

*The  Blockheads;  or,  Fortunate  Contractor:  An  Opera 
in  Two  Acts,  as  it  Was  Performed  at  New  York.  Printed  at 
New  York,  London.  (1782). 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  239 

authorship;  this  was  probably  given  for  the  first 
time  in  New  York,  April  16,  1787.° 

Royall  Tyler  had  written  an  earlier  dramatic 
sketch,  May  Day;  or,  New  York  in  an  Uproar, 
which  had  been  acted  by  Wignell.  After  the  suc 
cess  of  The  Contrast,  he  tried  again  to  gain  ap 
plause  by  a  comedy,  The  Georgia  Spec;  or,  Land 
in  the  Moon;  but  this,  like  his  lyric  efforts  and 
his  Comic  Grammar,  has  been  forgotten.  The 
student  of  American  literature  still  finds  mild  in 
terest  in  Tyler's  fiction,  The  Algerine  Captive  and 
The  Yankey  in  London.  He  is,  however,  gen 
erally  known  as  the  writer  of  the  first  American 
play  that  won  success  and  maintained  the  interest 
of  a  later  generation.7  In  the  reprint  by  the  Dun- 
lap  Society,  the  editor,  Thomas  J.  McKee,  said  of 
its  general  influence : 

The  success  of  "The  Contrast"  was  one  of  the 
powerful  influences  which  aided  in  bringing  about  in  this 
country  a  complete  revolution  of  sentiment  with  respect  to 
the  drama  and  theatrical  amusements.8 

The  statement  of  Tyler  in  the  advertisement  of 

6  This  date,  generally  adopted,  has  been  disputed  by   Rev. 
Thomas    P.   Tyler,   who   says   the   initial   performance   was    at 
Park   Theater,   April    16,    1789.      See   Gilman,   Bibliography   of 
Vermont   (Montpelier,   1897),  pp.  282. 

7  A    few    of   his    Songs    in    manuscript    are    in    the    Boston 
Public    Library. 

8  The    Contrast,    reprint    by    the     Dunlap     Society     (New 
York,   1887),   Introduction,  p.  viii. 


240    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

his  play  may  be  readily  believed.    He  assured  the 
public  that  he  "never  critically  studied  the  rules 
of  the  drama,  and  indeed  had  seen  but  few  exhi 
bitions  of  the  stage."    In  conclusion,  he  confessed 
that  the  play  "was  undertaken  and  finished  in  the 
course  of  three  weeks."    In  spite  of  the  obvious 
results  of  such  haste  and  lack  of  training,  there 
is  a   tone  of   vibrant   Americanism   which   won 
passing  favor  for  the  drama,  not  alone  with  the 
public,  but  also  with  Washington,  whose  name 
appears  first  upon  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the 
printed  version.9     The  keynote  of  patriotism  is 
sounded  in  the  first  lines  of  the  prologue : 
EXULT,  each  patriot  heart!  this  night  is  shewn 
A  piece,  which  we  may  fairly  call  our  own; 
Where  the  proud  titles  of  "My  Lord!"  "Your  Grace!" 
To  humble  Mr.  and  plain  Sir  give  place. 
Our   Author   pictures   not    from    foreign   climes, 
The  fashions  or  the  follies  of  the  times; 
But  has  confin'd  the  subject  of  his  work 
To  the  gay  scenes — the  circles  of  New   York. 

The  droll  frontispiece  was  drawn  by  Dunlap, 
who  recorded  his  interest  in  this  play  and  its  in 
fluence  upon  him.  but  who  also  censured  it  freely: 

It  is  extremely  deficient  in  plot,  dialogue,  or  incident, 
but  has  some  marking  in  the  characters,  and  in  that  of 
Jonathan,  played  by  Wignell,  a  degree  of  humour  and  a 
'  The  title-page  of  the  first  edition  reads :  The  Contrast, 
A  Comedy;  in  five  acts.  Written  by  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States;  Performed  with  applause  at  the  Theatres  in  New-York, 
Philadelphia  and  Maryland  (1790). 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  241 

knowledge  of  what  is  termed  Yankee  dialect  which,  in  the 
hands  of  a  favourite  performer,  was  relished  by  an  audi 
ence  gratified  by  the  appearance  of  home  manufacture — a 
feeling  which  was  soon  exchanged  for  a  most  discouraging 
predilection  for  foreign  articles,  and  contempt  for  every 
home-made  literary  effort.10 

The  climax  of  broad  humor  is  in  the  first 
scene  of  the  third  act  of  The  Contrast.  Here  are 
allusions  to  the  prejudices,  then  current,  against 
theaters  and  actors.  Jonathan  is  describing  his 
experiences  in  the  city.  Someone  hints  that  he 
must  have  seen  "the  players,"  and  he  exclaims : 

Mercy  on  my  soul !  Did  I  see  the  wicked  players  ? 
Mayhap  that  'ere  Darby,  that  I  liked  so,  was  the  old  ser 
pent  himself  and  had  his  cloven  feet  in  his  pocket.  Why, 
I  vow,  now  I  come  to  think  on't,  the  candles  seemed  to 
burn  blue,  and  I'm  sure  where  I  sat  it  smelt  tarnally  of 
brimstone. 

The  three  women — Charlotte,  Letitia,  and  Maria 
— were  good  types  of  their  own  times  in  manners, 
but  they  belong  to  the  universally  feminine  in  sen 
timents  and  thoughts.  The  true  motif  of  the  play 
was  summarized  in  the  final  speech  of  Colonel 
Manly,  the  priggish  hero : 

And  I  have  learned  that  probity,  virtue,  honour,  though 
they  should  not  have  received  the  polish  of  Europe,  will 
secure  to  an  honest  American  the  good  graces  of  his 
countrywomen,  and,  I  hope,  the  applause  of  THE 
PUBLIC 

10  History  of  the  American  Theatre  (New  York,  1832), 
pp.  71,  72. 


242     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

This  comedy  by  Tyler  has  received  detailed 
attention  here,  both  because  of  its  important  place 
in  the  development  of  native  drama,  and  also  on 
account  of  its  influence  upon  William  Dunlap. 
His  own  assertion  was : 

I  heard  of  the  success  of  "The  Contrast"  and  although 
it  was  already  put  on  the  shelf  of  the  prompter,  or  buried 
in  his  travelling  chest,  the  praises  bestowed  upon  it  lit 
up  the  inflammable  material  brought  from  abroad,  and  a 
comedy  in  five  acts  was  written  in  a  few  weeks." 

The  incidents  of  Dunlap's  youth,  as  well  as 
his  tastes,  inclined  him  toward  the  two  professions 
with  which  he  was  allied — art  and  the  dra.na. 
Born  at  Perth  Amboy,  February  19,  1776,  his 
earliest  memories  clustered  about  scenes  of  the 
Revolution.  His  father,  Samuel  Dunlap,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  was  in  Wolfe's  army  and  was  seri 
ously  wounded  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  When 
he  recovered,  he  left  the  army,  married  Mar 
garet  Sargent,  and  became  a  storekeeper  at  Perth 
Amboy,  where  his  only  son  was  born.  Accord 
ing  to  family  stories,  William  Dunlap  was  an 
example  of  an  only  child  of  the  "spoiled"  kind, 
tyrannizing  over  family  and  slaves  alike.  Be 
yond  the  instruction  of  his  "good  mother,"  as 
he  always  called  her,  he  had  another  teacher  in 

u  History  of  the  American  Theatre  (New  York,  1832),  p. 
77.  Dunlap  had  just  returned  from  four  years  in  England 
at  the  time  this  play  was  presented. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  243 

his  birth-town,  to  whom  he  owed  early  fondness 
for  books  and  pictures.  This  aged  friend  and 
his  home  were  described  minutely  by  Dunlap: 

On  the  corner  of  Market  and  High  streets  stood  the 
house  of  Thomas  Bartow.  He  was  a  small,  thin,  old  man, 
with  straight  gray  hair  hanging  in  comely  guise  on  each 
side  of  his  pale  face.12 

In  this  friend's  garden,  beside  the  hickory  fire  in 
the  library,  or  speeding  over  the  frozen  ground 
behind  the  old  sorrel  horse,  Dunlap  received  many 
happy  and  lasting  lessons  on  life  and  books.  In 
memory  he  recalled  this  inspiring  guide : 

Patiently  he  turned  over  the  pages  of  Homer  and 
Virgil  in  the  translations  of  Pope  and  Dryden,  and  of  Mil 
ton's  poems,  and  explained  the  pictures,  until  I  was  familiar 
with  the  stories  of  Troy  and  Latium, — of  heaven  and  hell, 
as  poets  tell  them.  Nor  was  history  strange  to  me, 
especially  that  of  Rome.  Thus  was  commenced  a  love  of 
reading  which  has  been  my  blessing.13 

As  a  boy,  Dunlap  belonged  to  a  company  of 
"Governor's  guards,"  during  the  later  years  of 
the  Revolution.  He  remembered  vividly  the 
arrival  of  British  troops  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  his 
desire  to  follow  them  far  out  of  town.  This 

12  William  Dunlap,  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the 
Arts  of  Design  in  the  United  States  (New  York,  1834),  Vol. 
I,  p.  245,  246. 

13  Wiiliam  A.  Whitehead,  Contributions  to  the  Early  History 
of  Perth  Amboy  (New  York,  1856),  pp.  139-41,  gives  further 
facts   about   this   man,    and    also    "the    Dame    School"    which 
Dunlap  attended,  kept  by  Mrs.  Randal. 


244     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

incident  had  more  than  a  passing  result  for 
Dunlap,  for  his  family  moved  to  Piscatawa, 
that  they  might  be  sure  of  safety  in  an  attack. 
Here,  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan,  the  boy  found 
a  new  teacher  in  Nature.  He  made  fitful  attempts 
to  study  at  home,  and  he  browsed  much  in  his 
father's  library.  The  lifelong  regret  of  his  life 
was  the  lack  of  any  systematic  education.  But 
there  were  compensations  at  this  time.  As  he 
recalled : 

My  time  was  principally  occupied  in  swimming  and 
fishing  in  the  creeks  of  the  Raritan,  rambling  the  fields 
and  woods — sailing  boats  on  a  mill-pond — visiting  the 
miller — and,  in  short,  in  the  delights  of  liberty  and  idle 
ness, — no,  not  idleness,  for  this  was  as  busy  a  summer 
as  I  remember.14 

When  his  family  moved  to  New  York,  in 
1777,  Dunlap's  studies  were  renewed,  but  only 
for  a  brief  time.  While  playing  with  some  friends 
near  the  home  of  Andrew  Elliot,  in  1778,  his  right 
eye  was  cut  by  a  wood-chip  carelessly  tossed  by 
a  playmate.  At  first  he  was  threatened  with  total 
blindness,  but  gradually  he  recovered  the  use  of 
his  left  eye.  His  definite  schooling  was  ended, 
and  pictures  became  his  only  resource  during 
weeks  of  recovery.  He  began  to  use  India  ink 
in  copying  prints.  His  success  led  to  attempts 

14  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Arts  of  Design 
m  th*  United  States,  Vol.  I,  p.  247. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  245 

at  engravings,  and  he  drew  sketches  of  his  rela 
tives  "at  three  guineas  a  head."  In  later  life  he 
traced  his  failures  in  working  with  color  to 
this  early  enthusiasm,  saying:  "My  eye  became 
satisfied  with  light  and  shadow,  and  the  ex 
citement  of  color  was  not  necessary  to  my 
pleasure."  15 

Dunlap's  father  thought  he  could  make  an 
artist  of  his  son,  if  he  gave  him  enough  instruc 
tion.  He  sent  him  as  a  pupil  to  William 
Williams,  in  New  York,  who  taught  him  the 
rudiments  of  portrait-painting;  and  the  youth 
experimented  upon  his  family  and  friends.  He 
was  especially  anxious  to  paint  the  portrait  of 
Washington,  and  was  given  the  privilege  at  two 
different  times.  The  second  effort  was  a  crude, 
full-length  portrait,  modeled  after  West's  paint 
ing  of  the  same  subject.  The  background  was 
the  battlefield  at  Princeton.  Beside  Washington 
was  the  recumbent  figure  of  General  Mercer. 

To  fulfil  his  ambition  for  his  son,  his  father 
sent  him  to  London,  in  1784,  that  he  might  have 
the  benefit  of  instruction  by  Benjamin  West.  The 
four  years  abroad  did  not  much  advance  Dun- 
lap's  progress  in  his  art,  for  he  was  idle  and 
conceited,  the  victim  of  ill-health  and  too  much 

15  Ibid.,  p.  250.  One  of  the  droll  efforts  in  color  by  Dun- 
lap  is  at  the  New  York  Historical  Society :  "The  Artist  Show 
ing  a  Picture  from  Hamlet  to  His  Parents." 


246     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

freedom  and  dissipation  in  a  large  city.  Evi 
dently  West  did  not  consider  him  promising  as 
an  art-student,  although  "Rafe"  West,  the 
painter's  son,  was  one  of  Dunlap's  intimates 
during  this  period.  When  Dunlap  showed  one 
of  his  portraits  to  West,  the  latter's  droll  com 
ment  was :  "You  have  made  the  two  sides  of 
the  figure  alike — each  has  the  same  sweeping 
swell — he  looks  like  a  rolling  pin."  16 

On  his  return  to  America,  Dunlap  drifted 
aimlessly  for  a  time;  but,  after  his  marriage  to 
Elizabeth  Woolsey  he  renounced  his  convivial 
habits  and  tried  to  make  his  life  more  noble.  In 
the  marriage  notice,  in  New  York  Daily  Gazette, 
February  16,  1789,  she  is  called  the  amiable  and 
accomplished  Miss  Nabby  Woolsey,  of  Fairfield, 
Conn.  Dunlap  was  interested,  for  a  time,  in  the 
New  York  Abolition  Society,  and  freed  his 
father's  slaves.  Afterward  he  tried  business  and 
visited  various  cities  as  a  trader  in  general  mer 
chandise.  Finally  he  heard  of  the  success  of 
Tyler's  The  Contrast,  and  became  filled  with  the 
idea  that  he  would  be  a  playwright.  His  boy 
hood  pleasure  in  witnessing  the  plays  given  by 
the  British  soldiers,  the  more  recent  enjoyment 
of  plays  in  London,  and  the  promise  of  American 
response  seemed  to  assure  him  that  this  was  his 
opportunity. 

Op.  cit.,  p.  262. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  247 

His  first  attempt,  Modest  Soldier;  or,  Love 
in  New  York,  was,  he  said,  "read  to  critics  as 
young  and  ignorant  as  the  author,  and  praised  to 
his  heart's  content.  It  has  long  slept  in  the  tomb 
of  the  Capulets,  and  fortunately  no  traces  remain 
of  its  merits  or  demerits."  17  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  same  fate  did  not  attend  many  others 
of  his  more  than  sixty  plays. 

The  second  effort  was  more  successful  in 
immediate  and  lasting  results.  The  first  per 
formance  was  at  the  John  Street  Theater, 
September  7,  1789.  It  was  entitled  The  Father; 
or,  American  Shandyism;  in  a  later  issue  the  title 
was  The  Father  of  an  Only  Child.191  The 
comedy  abounds  in  melodrama,  crude  and  com 
plicated  situations,  until  the  reader  is  prepared 
to  echo  the  sentiment  of  the  epilogue,  which  was 
spoken  by  Mrs.  Henry,  of  the  American  Com 
pany: 

Well,  We've  got  thro'  and  in  good  truth  I'm  glad  on't, 
A  sorry,  whining,  canting  time  I've  had  on't, — 
My  true  love  lost  and  found,  and  found  and  lost; 
Like  shuttlecock  my  passions  pitch'd  and  toss'd. 

There  were  references  to  the  political  situation, 

17  History    of    the    American    Theatre    (New    York,    1832), 
P.  77- 

18  This   was    reprinted    from    the   original    in    1887,    by   the 
Dunlap   Society,   with  an  introduction  by  Thomas  J.   McKee. 
The  original  play  was  first  printed  in  the  Massachusetts  Maga 
zine,  October  and  November,  1789. 


248     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

especially  to  the  proposed  and  rejected  amend 
ments  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  in  the 
speeches  by  the  leading  characters,  Mr.  Racket 
and  his  petulant  wife. 

The  response  to  this  first  play  fired  Dunlap 
with  determination  to  write  more.  In  reminis 
cence  he  confessed : 

Filled  with  youthful  ardour  and  pleased  with  the  ap 
plause  of  the  public  and  the  encouragement  of  his  asso 
ciates,  he  tho't  only  of  future  triumphs,  and  tragedies 
and  comedies,  operas  and  farces,  occupied  his  mind,  his 
time  and  his  pen.19 

The  second  play  which  was  acted  was  a  trifle, 
Darby's  Return,  written  as  a  benefit  for  the  actor 
Wignell.  The  character  of  the  poor,  genial 
soldier  was  long  recalled.  With  a  party  of  guests, 
Washington  attended  this  play  at  its  first  staging 
in  New  York,  and  was  embarrassed  at  first,  and 
then  amused,  by  the  references  to  himself.20  In 
homely  phrase,  Darby  told  of  Washington's  ser 
vice: 

A  man  who  fought  to  free  the  land  from  wo, 
Like  me,  had  left  his  farm  a-soldiering  to  go, 
But  having  gained  his  point,  he  had,  like  me, 
"History  of  the  American  Theatre   (New  York,   1832),  p. 
114.     The  long  list  of  his  plays  as  given  by  Wegelin  in  Early 
American  Plays,  including  a  number  of  manuscripts,  testifies 
to  the  truth  of  this  word. 

"  Ibid.,  p.  85.  The  same  story  is  in  Martha  J.  Lamb,  His 
tory  of  the  City  of  New  York,  Vol.  II,  p.  352  ;  also  in  Paul  L. 
Ford,  Washington  and  the  Theatre  (New  York,  1899). 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  249 

Return'd  his  own  potato  ground  to  see. 
But  there  he  could  not  rest.    With  one  accord 
He's  called  to  be  a  kind  of, — not  a  lord, — 
I  don't  know  what,  he's  not  a  great  man  sure, 
For  poor  men  love  him  just  as  he  were  poor. 

When  Kathleen  asked,  "How  look'd  he, 
Darby?  Was  he  short  or  tall?"  Dunlap  said 
Washington  showed  embarrassment  from  the 
expectation  of 

one  of  those  eulogies  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  hear 
on  many  public  occasions  and  which  must  doubtless  have 
been  a  severe  trial  to  his  feelings;  but  Darby's  answer 
that  he  had  not  seen  him,  because  he  had  mistaken  "a 
man  all  lace  and  glitter,  botherum  and  shine"  for  him, 
until  the  show  had  passed,  relieved  the  hero  from  appre 
hension  of  further  personality,  and  he  indulged  in  that 
which  was  with  him  extremely  rare,  a  hearty  laugh. 

Such  an  anticlimax  was  often  found  in  Dunlap's 
plays.  He  chose  this  device  to  bring  in  humor 
and,  in  many  cases,  to  speak  a  message  of 
democracy. 

For  the  rival  of  Wignell,  the  actor  Hodgkinson, 
Dunlap  wrote  the  play  that  was  printed  later  as 
Lord  Leicester,  but  the  title  of  which,  as  acted 
April  24,  1794,  was  The  Fatal  Deception;  or, 
The  Progress  of  Guilt.  This  play  did  not  win 
much  applause ;  so  the  dramatist  created  a  charac 
ter  akin  to  that  of  Darby,  in  the  farce  Shelty's 
Travels.  This  was  left  among  his  manuscript 
plays;  but  it  had  temporary  fame,  and  cleared 


250    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

five  hundred  dollars  for  the  actor's  benefit.  In 
the  copy  of  Lord  Leicester  printed  in  New  York, 
probably  in  1807,  the  author  wrote:  "To  the 
Reader" : 

The  following  poem,  my  first  effort  in  tragic  composi 
tion,  and  the  first  American  tragedy  produced  upon  the 
stage,  was  written  in  the  year  1790,  and  first  played  at 
New  York,  in  1794.  Its  success  confirmed  my  attachment 
to  the  drama. 

To  most  readers,  Matilda  urging  Henry  to  the  murder 
of  Leicester  will  appear  as  a  copy  of  lady  Macbeth;  but 
she  is,  in  reality,  more  in  situation  like  the  Clytemnestra 
of  the  Greek  poets;  yet  essentially  different  (independent 
of  difference  in  merit)  from  both. 

May,    1806.  W.    Dunlap. 

In  this  play  the  part  of  Leicester  was  taken 
by  Hallam,  and  that  of  Cecil  by  Hodgkinson. 

Soon  after  Dunlap's  plays  had  begun  to  attract 
favorable  attention,  he  was  persuaded  by  Hodg 
kinson  to  enter  a  partnership  with  him  as  theatri 
cal  manager.  This  was  a  fatal  error,  as  regarded 
the  financial  future  of  Dunlap.  He  hoped,  how 
ever,  to  improve  the  American  stage  and  to 
educate  the  public  to  appreciate  native  dramas  of 
purity.  At  sixty-five,  with  shattered  health  and 
fortunes,  he  still  affirmed  that  he  had 
the  thoughts  and  wishes  of  one  who,  on  trial,  found  cir 
cumstances  too  strong  for  his  desires  of  reform,  and,  who, 
after  a  struggle  (with  ruined  health  and  fortunes,)  gave  up 
the  contest  without  giving  up  the  wish  or  hope." 

n  History  of  the  American  Theatre,  p.   143. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  251 

Hodgkinson  persuaded  Dunlap  to  purchase  a 
share  in  the  John  Street  Theater,  and  later  to 
join  him  in  a  lease  of  the  Park  Theater,  with  a 
cost  for  fittings  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  He  also  emphasized  to  Dunlap 
the  opportunity  thus  afforded  for  presenting  the 
latter's  plays.  The  month  after  Dunlap  had  as 
sumed  management,  he  brought  out  his  opera  The 
Archers,  the  tale  of  William  Tell.  This  was  an 
adaptation ;  Hodgkinson  as  William  Tell  and  his 
wife  as  Cecily  won  many  plaudits.22  The  "Basket 
Song"  was  retained  in  books  of  parlor  music 
for  many  years  after  the  play  had  been  for 
gotten  : 

Come,   who'll   buy   my  baskets? 

I've  small  and  I've  great, 
They  are  fit  for  all  uses, 
And  suiting  each  state. 
Chorus :  Come,  who'll  buy  my  baskets  ? 

Buck-baskets,  bread-baskets, 

Of  broom  and  of  chip; 
Work  baskets  for  ladies 

Who  ne'er  have  the  hip. 
Chorus :  Come,  who'll  buy  my  baskets  ? 

Here's    love-letter   baskets 
Of  willow  so  trim 

22  This  was  adapted  from  "a  piece,  Helvetic  Liberty,  left 
with  him."  His  title  reads :  The  Archers  or  Mountaineers  of 
Switzerland.  An  Opera  in  $  acts,  as  performed  by  the  Old 
American  Company  (New  York,  1796). 


252     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

For  the  swain  who  sore  sighs 

At    his    mistress's    whim. 
Chorus:  Come,  who'll  buy  my  baskets? 

Discords  soon  followed  triumphs  at  the  theater. 
Quarrels  arose  between  Hodgkinson  and  Hallam, 
and  Dunlap  was  compelled  to  borrow  and  advance 
money  to  meet  the  expenses  of  his  partner  while 
on  trips  in  Boston  and  Hartford.  With  quiet 
sarcasm  he  wrote  of  his  share  in  these  extrava 
gances  of  Hodgkinson:  "His  partner  sent  on 
money  and  advice.  The  one  was  taken,  the 
other  rejected."23 

Valuable  aid  in  studying  the  life  of  Dunlap 
during  this  part  of  his  career,  both  as  manager 
and  as  playwright,  is  found  in  some  volumes  of 
manuscript  journals  recently  acquired  by  the  New 
York  Historical  Society.  Portions  are  here 
printed  by  permission.  The  four  volumes  at  this 
library  are  numbered  14,  15,  24,  and  30,  in  an 
evidently  broken  series.  They  thus  cover  not 
alone  the  two  years  of  his  activity  as  playwright, 
1797-98,  but  the  later  volumes  reveal  his  last 
years  of  struggle  as  painter  and  author.  The 
books  are  bound  in  leather,  and  the  handwriting 
is  generally  clear  and  strong. 

The  first  entry,  July  27,  1797,  is  a  typical 
record  of  a  day  in  Dunlap's  life,  bringing  its  own 
testimony  to  his  energy  and  varied  interests : 

n  History   of  the   American   Theatre,   p.   201. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  253 

I  arose  at  half-past  4  O'clock  and  worked  in  the 
garden  untill  breakfast.  Went  with  the  Children  to  Mr. 
Parker's  where  I  left  Margaret.  Read  Hume  with  John 
Read24  in  the  I5th  vol.  of  Enc;  which  I  borrowed  on  the 
25th  from  Mr.  Parker's  family;  on  which  evening  I  read 
several  arts,  in  it  to  my  Wife ;  particularly  potatoes.  Read 
this  morning  to  my  Wife  Art.  Platonism;  finding  the 
opinion  of  Plato  in  respect  to  a  first  cause  of  the  Uni 
verse  and  co-existing  Matter  very  similar  to  ideas  of  my 
own  expressed  in  Ufrasia,  I  took  up  ye  vol.  of  my 
Memoirs  &  read  to  my  Wife  one  of  the  dialogues  between 
Joseph  and  Abbas.  Read  Hume  with  ye  boy.  Read  in 
Enc.  arts.  Platonism,  Plotinus,  Plover,  etc.  Walk  out 
to  my  Farm, — the  buckwheat  is  well  up. 

Following  such  entries  of  domestic  and  per 
sonal  interest  are  passages  relating  to  his  dramas. 
He  records  the  opinion  of  Thomas  Holcroft,  to 
whom  he  had  sent  some  of  his  plays  with  a  view 
to  publication.  The  decision  was  unfavorable; 
the  publisher  had  read  "William  Tell  first  and  did 
not  care  to  read  the  others."  Dunlap  accepted 
the  verdict  with  good  grace,  saying :  "His  opinion 
in  respect  to  the  publication  is  just  and  the 
knowledge  of  that  opinion  is  salutary  to  me." 

Letters  from  Hodgkinson,  dated  from  Hart 
ford  and  Boston,  brought  Dunlap  tidings  of  "ex 
penditures  far  in  excess  of  receipts."  The 
scattered  sentences  which  follow  indicate  the 
stress  and  anxiety  which  such  mismanagement 
caused  Dunlap:  "August  15,  Rec'd  letters  from 

24  This  reference  is  to  his  son,  who  died  in  early  manhood. 


254     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Hodgkinson  filled  with  ill-fortune — wrote  to  him 
— 'I  can  send  no  more;  we  may  as  well  stop  at 
once.  How  I  shall  pay  what  I  owe  here  I  know 
not.' '  A  tow  days  later,  after  a  night  of  anxiety, 
he  wrote  in  the  journal:  'The  greater  part  of 
this  day  has  been  passed  in  fruitless  attempts  to 
borrow  money." 

Near  the  close  of  the  first  manuscript  volume. 
November  25,  1797,  there  is  a  significant  entry: 
"Write  on  Andre."  The  early  pages  of  the 
second  volume  of  the  journal  (Volume  15) 
mention  this  play  in  progress  of  writing;  then, 
later,  in  presentation.  As  this  was  the  drama 
which  has  given  Dunlap  his  true  recognition  in 
later  years,  it  is  fitting  to  speak  of  it  in  detail. 
Reading  the  story  from  entries  in  the  journal, 
we  find  that  in  December,  1797,  Dunlap  returned 
from  Boston,  where  he  had  been  compelled  to  give 
security  for  Hodgkinson's  debts.  On  his  way  back 
to  New  York  he  had  stopped  at  New  Haven,  at 
his  "excellent  brother  Dwight's,"  to  whom  he  had 
read  parts  of  his  new  play.25  According  to  the 
journal,  Andre  was  finished  January  21,  1798, 
but  it  was  March  27  before  final  rehearsals  began. 
Cooper,  Hallam,  and  Hodgkinson  became  in 
volved  in  a  three-cornered  quarrel  over  the  parts. 

*  Mrs.    Dunlap    was    the    sister    of   the    wife    of    President 
Timothy  Dwight. 


Titlr-pagc  of  William  Dunlap's  play,  Andre,  1798. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  255 

and  the  presentation  was  much  delayed.  But  on 
March  30  there  was  this  significant  diary  note : 

Evening,  Andre  &  poor  Soldier  in  ye  house — $817. 
The  play  was  much  applauded,  notwithstanding  the  ex 
treme  imperfectness  of  Cooper  &  of  some  others  but  on 
Elands  throwing  down  his  Cocade  there  was  (JtV)  a 
few  hisses. 

This  incident  of  the  cockade  nearly  made  the 
play  a  fiasco.  It  was  dangerous  to  choose  the 
character  of  Andre  and  his  fate  as  a  subject  for 
drama  within  eighteen  years  of  the  dates  of  the 
events,  and  while  partisan  spirit  was  still  smolder 
ing.  Cooper,  in  the  character  of  Bland,  a  young 
American  officer  who  had  been  kindly  treated  by 
Andre  and  became  his  friend  while  imprisoned 
within  the  British  lines,  finding  that  his  pleas 
would  not  save  the  life  of  Andre,  tore  the  Ameri 
can  cockade  from  his  casque  and  threw  it  down. 
This  episode  in  the  play  was  easily  misinterpreted 
at  the  time  it  was  first  given.  Afterward  Dunlap 
said: 

This  was  not,  perhaps  could  not  be,  understood  by  a 
mixed  assembly;  they  thought  the  country  and  its  defend 
ers  insulted,  and  a  hiss  ensued — it  was  soon  quieted  and  the 
play  ended  with  applause.26 

The  contemporary  version  of  the  affair,  in  his 
journal,  indicates  that  the  feeling  was  not  con 
fined  to  the  first  night,  but  lived  for  a  day  or 

29  History  of  the  American  Theatre,  p.  222. 


256    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

two.  April  2,  1798,  before  the  second  or  third 
presentation,  he  wrote :  "I  am  told  that  the  people 
are  so  offended  at  the  Cocade  business  as  to 
threaten  to  hiss  off  the  play  tonight."  A  severe 
storm  prevented  the  play  from  being  given  that 
night,  and  before  its  next  performance  Dunlap 
says  that  he  "made  an  alteration  in  the  5th  act, 
by  making  Bland,  on  his  repentance,  receive  the 
cockade  again."  The  play  was  repeated  April  6, 
"for  the  Author's  benefit  and  cleared  $329." 

In  spite  of  many  technical  defects  and  "wooden 
speeches,"  Dunlap  achieved  considerable  success 
with  the  character  of  Andre.  In  the  reprint  of 
this  play,  J.  Brander  Matthews  has  said,  criticiz 
ing  its  merits :  "Of  all  the  plays  on  the  subject  of 
Arnold's  treason  and  Andre's  sad  fate,  the 
Andre  of  Mr.  Dunlap  is  easily  the  best,  both  as 
literature  and  as  a  successful  acting  drama."27 
The  best  portion  of  the  play  is  in  Act  II,  the 
interview  between  Andre  and  Bland : 

ANDR£.    Oft  in  the  generous  heat  of  glowing  youth, 
Oft  have  I  said  how  fully  I  despised 
All  bribery  base,  all  treacherous  tricks  in  war : 
Rather   my  blood   should   bathe   these   hostile 

shores, 
And  have  it  said,  "He  died  a  gallant  soldier," 

"  The  Original  edition  was  entitled :  Andre :  A  Tragedy 
in  5  acts.  By  William  Dunlap  (New  York,  1798;  London, 
1799)  I  reprint  by  the  Dunlap  Society  (New  York,  1887). 
Introduction  by  J.  Brander  Matthews,  p.  xxiv. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP 


257 


Than     with     my     country's     gold     encourage 

treason, 
And  thereby  purchase  gratitude  and  fame. 

BLAND.    Still   mays't  thou   say  it,    for  thy  heart's   the 
same 

ANDRE.    Still  is  my  heart  the  same.    But  there  has  past 
A  day,  an  hour,  which  ne'er  can  be  recall'd, 
Unhappy  man !    Tho'  all  thy  life  pass  pure, 
Mark'd  by  benevolence  thy  every  deed; 
The  out-spread   map,   which   shows   the  way 

thou'st  trod, 

Without  one   devious  track  or   doubtful   line, 
It  all  avails  thee  naught,  if  in  one  hour, 
One  hapless  hour,  thy  feet  are  led  astray; — 
Thy    happy    deeds    all    blotted    from    remem 
brance  ; 

Cancell'd  the  record  of  thy  former  good, 
Is  it  not  hard,  my  friend?     Is't  not  unjust? 

BLAND.  Not  every  record  cancel'd.  O,  there  are  hearts 
Where  Virtue's  image,  when  'tis  once  engrav'd, 
Can  never  know  erasure. 

The  later  lines  of  this  act,  in  which  Andre 
recites  the  incidents  of  his  treason  and  capture, 
have  a  sustained  interest,  although  many  lines 
lack  spontaneity  and  force : 

BLAND.    It  was  thy  duty  so  to  serve  thy  country. 

ANDRE.    Nay,  nay;  be  cautious  ever  to  admit 
That   duty   can   beget   dissimulation. 
On  ground,  unoccupied  by  either  part, 
Neutral  esteem'd,  I  landed,  and  was  met. 
But  ere  my  conference  was  with  Arnold  clos'd, 
The  day  began  to  dawn;  I  then  was  told 
That  till  the  night  I  must  my  safety  seek 


258     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

In  close  concealment.    Within  your  posts  con- 

vey'd 

I  found  myself  involved  in  unthought  dangers, 
Night  came.     I  sought  the  vessel  which  had 

borne 

Me  to  the  fatal  spot;  but  she  was  gone. 
Retreat  that  way  cut  off,  again  I  sought 
Concealment  with  the  traitors  of  your  army. 
Arnold  now  granted  passes,  and  I  doff'd 
My  martial  garb,  and  put  on  curs'd  disguise. 
Thus  in  a  peasant's  form  I  pass'd  your  posts ; 
And  when,  as  I  conceiv'd  my  danger  o'er, 
Was     stopt    and     seiz'd    by    some     returning 

scouts. 

So  did  ambition  lead  me,  step  by   step, 
To  treat  with  traitors,  and  encourage  treason ; 
And  then,  bewilder'd  in  the  guilty .  scene, 
To  quit  my  martial  designating  badges, 
Deny  my  name  and  sink  into  the  spy. 

The  interest  awakened  by  this  tragedy  induced 
Dunlap  to  introduce  some  of  the  same  characters 
— Washington,  Arnold,  Paulding,  and  Andre — 
in  a  melodrama,  The  Glory  of  Columbia,  which 
was  first  given  at  the  Park  Theater,  July  4, 
i8o3.28  Some  of  the  songs,  which  formed  a 
prominent  feature  of  this  play,  were  crude,  but 
spirited,  such  as  the  chorus,  "Glory  of  Columbia," 
sung  to  the  tune  of  "Washington's  March": 

"The  Glory  of  Columbia;  her  Yeomanry:  A  Play  in  5 
nets.  The  Songs,  Duets  and  Choruses,  intended  for  the  cele 
bration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  at  the  New-York  Theatre  (New 
York,  1803). 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  259 

See,  the  standards  float, 

So  proudly  gay! 
Hark!  the  trumpet's  note, 

With  clanging  bray. 

While  every  breast  with  conscious  might, 
Swells  ardent  for  the  coming  fight! 

The  fight  is  done, 
The  battle  won ! 
Our  praise  is  due  to  him  alone, 
Who  from  his  bright  eternal  throne, 
The  fate  of  battles  and  of  man  decides ! 
To  him  all  praise  be  given ! 
And    under    heaven, 
To   great   Columbia's   son, 

Blest  WASHINGTON! 
Who  o'er  the  fight  like  fate  presides. 
As  one  looks  over  the  list  of  Dunlap's  plays, 
with  dates  of  writing,  performance,  and  publica 
tion,29  he  will  note  his  years  of  plenty  and  of 
famine  as  a  playwright.  The  climax  of  his  popu 
larity  was  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  year  1800  has  a  record  of  eight  plays  that 
were  either  performed  or  printed,  in  addition  to 
some  that  failed  to  win  sufficient  favor  to  be  pro 
duced.  Following  this  period  of  fecundity  there 
was  an  interval  of  discouragement.  A  brief 
revival  of  success  came  in  1803,  when  he  pro 
duced  The  Voice  of  Nature,  which  was  an  adapta- 

28  Such  lists  are  to  be  found  in  the  reprint  of  The  Father 
by  the  Dunlap  Society,  and  also  in  Oscar  Wegelin,  Early 
American  Plays  (2d  ed.,  1905). 


260     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

tion  from  a  French  play,  Lc  Jngement  dc 
Salomon;  Ribbemont;  or,  The  Feudal  Baron; 
The  Blind  Boy,  later  given  in  London,30  and 
The  Glory  of  Columbia.  Another  period  of 
desuetude,  as  regarded  publication,  followed 
for  four  or  five  years.  Then  came  an  awaken 
ing  of  interest  in  his  plays,  as  is  indicated 
by  the  performance  and  printing,  within  a  few 
years,  of  the  historical  dramas  Rinaldo  Rinaldini. 
The  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  The  Soldier  of 
Seventy-Six,  such  translations  as  Blue  Beard, 
Lover's  Vows,  and  The  Africans,  and  the  opera 
Yankee  Chronology,  with  its  "Huzza  Song" 
which  long  survived  its  time  of  composition,  in 
the  War  of  1812.  It  had  a  rollicking  refrain: 

Then  huzza !  for  the  Sons  of  Columbia  so   free ! 
They  are  lords  of  the  soil — they'll  be  lords  of  the  sea ! 

At  intervals  in  his  later  life  Dunlap  wrote  plays 
for  special  occasions,  or  at  the  requests  of  theater 
managers.  One  of  the  last  of  this  type  was  A 
Trip  to  Niagara — a  farce  which  was,  according 
to  his  own  explanation  in  the  preface,  "intended 
as  a  kind  of  running  accompaniment  to  the  more 
important  product  of  the  Scene  painter."  It 
illustrated  a  diorama  of  New  York  harbor,  the 
Catskills,  and  Niagara.81  It  is  noteworthy  that 

*°  For  full  title  and  date  of  these  plays,  see  the  Bibliography. 

"  A    Trip   to  Niagara.      Written  for  the  Bowery   Theatre, 

N.    Y.,  by   William   Dunlap,   Historical   and  Portrait  Painter, 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  261 

in  this  mongrel  play  one  of  the  characters  was 
Leatherstocking.  There  existed  a  strong  friend 
ship  between  Cooper  and  Dunlap,  in  the  latters 
last  years.  To  the  novelist,  Dunlap  dedicated  his 
American  edition  of  the  History  of  the  American 
Theatre. 

After  such  a  general  survey  of  Dunlap's  work 
as  playwright,  the  queries  arise :  What  were  his 
merits  as  a  dramatist,  and  why  does  he  deserve 
recognition,  in  the  face  of  such  defects  and  with 
such  meager  literary  skill?  His  defects  were 
obvious ;  to  him  they  seemed  insurmountable.  In 
an  address  which  prefaced  Rinaldo  Rinaldini  32 
he  thanked  the  public  for  past  favors,  and  de 
clared  : 

I  am  sensible  of  disadvantages  which  I  consequently 
labour  under,  from  a  confined  education,  nor  do  I  expect 
my  style  will  be  thought  equal  in  elegance  or  energy  to  the 
productions  of  those  who,  fortunately,  from  their  situa 
tion  in  life,  have  been  instructed  in  the  classics  and 
have  reaped  both  pleasure  and  improvement,  by  studying 
the  ancients  in  their  original  purity. — I  wish  to  be  under 
stood  that  my  pretensions  to  originality  are  small. 

Dunlap  well  summarized  here  his  chief  faults 
— lack  of  a  strong  style  and  of  much  originality. 
Largely  because  of  his  rapid  writing,  but  also 

Author  of  Memoirs  of  G.  F.  Cooke,  C,  B.  Brown,  Father  of 
an  Only  Child,  etc.  (New  York,  1830). 

32  Rinaldo  Rinaldini  or  the  Great  Banditti.  By  an  American 
and  a  Citizen  of  New  York  (New  York,  1810),  p.  iii. 


262     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

from  deficient  training,  his  style  was  often  loose 
and  weak.  There  are  a  few  passages  of  dramatic 
energy,  and  occasional  characters  with  marked 
portraiture,  as  we  have  cited;  but  the  mass  of 
his  plays  lapse  into  mediocrity.  His  claim  to 
remembrance  cannot  rest  upon  any  individual 
play,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Andre;  but 
he  deserves  some  praise  for  skill  in  meeting  the 
demands  of  his  age,  and  for  persistent  efforts  to 
cultivate  a  taste  for  pure,  American  drama. 

A  critic  has  used  the  phrase  "well  made"  to 
describe  Dunlap's  plays.33  In  general  construc 
tion  and  adaptation  to  the  fashions  of  his  day,  his 
plays  were  cleverly  devised.  They  were  always 
wholesome  morally,  whether  of  his  own  concep 
tion  or  translated  from  Kotzebue,  Iffland,  and 
other  playwrights.  He  was  sometimes  extraxa- 
gant  in  sensibility  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  time, 
but  his  tone  was  not  prurient.  He  exerted  a  dual 
influence  as  dramatist  and  theater-manager.  He 
lost  money  in  the  latter  experience,  and  was  re 
duced  to  penury;  but  he  never  lost  his  patience 
nor  his  confidence  in  the  public.  For  fifteen  years 
he  struggled,  endured  bickerings  among  actors, 
debts,  sickness;  but  he  still  maintained  a  firm 
faith  in  God  and  man,  and  a  belief  that  there  \va* 

"John  Malone  in  Introduction  (p.  vi)  to  Oscar  Wegelin, 
Early  American  Plays  (published  by  the  Dunlap  Society,  New 
York,  1900  and  1905). 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  263 

a  future  of  appreciation  for  both  playwrights  and 
actors  of  high  ideals. 

It  may  seem  almost  incredible  that  sufficient 
material  existed  for  a  bulky  History  of  the 
American  Theatre  in  1832,  when  Dunlap  pub 
lished  his  volume.  The  style  and  plan  of  the 
history  were  alike  leisurely,  with  many  side- 
excursions  into  letters,  politics,  and  society.  After 
two  or  more  pages  of  rambling  reminiscence,  the 
author  would  halt  and  admonish  his  readers: 
''But  let  us  return  to  New  York  and  the  Drama." 
In  addition  to  the  autobiographical  chapters,  much 
valuable  information  was  preserved  by  Dunlap 
regarding  plays,  their  writers  and  actors,  without 
which  later  studies  of  the  stage  would  have  been 
inadequate.  Comparing  himself  to  Colley  Gibber 
in  this  work,  he  quotes  from  his  English  model : 

If  I  have  any  particular  qualification  for  the  task  more 
than  another,  it  is  that  I  am  perhaps  the  only  person 
living  (however  unworthy)  from  whom  the  same 
materials  could  be  collected.34 

After  we  have  read,  with  kindly  interest,  the 
portraits  of  famous  actors  and  authors  of  that 
day,  and  the  mingled  success  and  pathos  in  Dun- 
lap's  own  life,  it  is  disturbing  to  meet  such  a 
sentence  of  wholesale  disparagement  as  this  by 
Seilhamer:  "Dunlap's  statements  of  facts  are 

34  William  Dunlap,  History  of  the  American  Theatre.  Pref 
ace,  p.  viii  (New  York,  1832;  London,  1833). 


264     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

almost  always  misstatements,  either  in  whole  or 
in  part."  35  Nor  is  this  later  critic  quite  justified 
in  such  a  sweeping  condemnation.  Some  of  Dun- 
lap's  dates,  and  many  of  his  deductions,  have 
been  corrected  by  later  research ;  but,  as  a  whole, 
his  History  of  the  American  Theatre  is  not  alone 
entertaining,  but  reliable,  as  a  portrayal  of 
characters  and  a  graphic  revelation  of  the  dra 
matic  impulse  in  America  which  survived  the 
fierce  opposition  and  many  discouragements  of 
the  first  half-century  of  national  life. 

With  greater  justice  toward  Dunlap's  under 
lying  motives  and  appreciation  of  his  charm, 
Samuel  Isham,  in  his  recent  History  of  American 
r  dint  ing  has  written  words  which  may  apply 
both  to  the  History  of  the  American  Theatre  and 
also  to  the  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of 
the  Arts  of  Design: 

He  had  a  feeling  for  accuracy  rare  at  the  time.  Like 
Herodotus  he  relates  many  fables  but  relates  them  as  they 

were  told  him   and  gives  his  authority He  had   a 

good  eye  for  character  and  he  had  fixed  moral  standards. 
It  is  only  in  his  pages  that  we  seem  to  touch  the  reality 
of  West  and  Stuart  and  Trumbull,  and  Allston  and  Sully. 
Men  were  as  sensitive  then  as  today,  and  the  men  of 
whom  he  wrote  and  their  friends  were  displeased  at  his 
frankness;  but  viewed  at  the  present  distance  of  time,  he 

•George  O.  Scilhamer,  History  of  the  American  Theatrt 
during  the  Revolution  and  after.  (Philadelphia,  1889),  Vol. 
II,  p.  274. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  265 

seems  rather  kindly.  He  had  his  dislikes  but  he  was 
harder  on  no  one  than  on  himself.  One  of  his  charms  is 
his  old-fashioned  style  as  remote  from  that  of  the  present 
day  as  Bacon's,  a  little  ponderous  but  clear  and  animated. 
Being  of  his  time  he  had  to  moralize  some,  but  he  does  it 
briefly,  and  compensates  for  it  by  introducing  innumer 
able  anecdotes,  including  some  remarkably  good  ones.  All 
of  his  successors  have  poached  on  his  preserves,  but  none 
has  paraphrased  them  without  loss  of  point  or  character.*" 

In  Dunlap's  History  of  the  American  Theatre 
are  delightful  sidelights  upon  famous  men  and 
women  of  the  past,  especially  among  the  actors 
and  playwrights.  There  is  a  typical  example  of 
his  anecdotal  quality  in  this  paragraph  about  the 
actor  Henry : 

Henry  was  the  only  actor  in  America  who  kept  a 
carriage.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  coach,  but  very  small, 
just  sufficient  to  carry  himself  and  wife  to  the  theatre, 
and  it  was  drawn  by  one  horse  and  driven  by  a  black 
boy.  Aware  of  the  jealousy  towards  players,  and 
that  it  would  be  said  he  kept  a  coach,  he  had  caused 
to  be  painted  on  the  doors,  in  the  manner  of  those  coats 
of  arms  which  the  aristocracy  of  Europe  display,  two 
crutches  in  heraldic  fashion,  with  the  motto,  "This  or 
these."  a 

The  work  by  Dunlap,  as  chronicler  of  both 
theater  and  art  in  America,  was  done  in  his  last 
years  after  he  had  met  virtual  'defeat  in  both  these 

36  Samuel  Isham,  History  of  American  Painting  (New 
York,  1905),  pp.  72,  73- 

"'  History  of  the  American  Theatre,  p.  79. 


266     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

branches  of  pioneer  effort.  In  his  History  of  the 
Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Arts  of  Design  in  the 
United  States,  published  two  years  after  his 
history  of  the  theater,  he  traced  the  lives  of 
many  early  artists,  painters,  miniaturists,  engrav 
ers,  and  teachers  of  art.  He  recounted  with 
frankness  his  own  failures.  In  a  tone  of  sadness 
he  wrote : 

In  my  history  of  the  American  Theatre  I  believe  I 
proved  to  my  reader's  satisfaction  that  I  was  not  qualified 
to  be  a  director  of  a  play-house  and  I  now  intend  to  show 
the  causes  that,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  and  after  a  long 
residence  in  London,  left  me  ignorant  of  anatomy,  per 
spective,  drawing  and  coloring,  and  returned  me  home  a 
most  incapable  painter. 

He  abandoned  painting  for  many  years,  while 
he  was  writing  and  presenting  plays.  After  his 
first  severe  downfall  of  favor  and  loss  of  income 
as  manager,  in  1805,  he  turned  to  miniature- 
painting  as  a  resource.  Visiting  various  cities,  he 
secured  orders  for  miniatures  from  some  people 
of  note,  like  Josiah  Quincy,  David  Humphreys, 
Mrs.  Darley,  James  Fennell,  and  others.  Through 
the  assistance  of  Malbone,  the  artist,  he  was  in 
structed  in  the  application  of  colors  and  the 
preparation  of  ivory.  To  extend  his  efforts  in 
art,  he  went  to  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
Norfolk,  securing  commissions  for  portraits  and 
miniatures,  and  painting  some  landscapes.  His 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  267 

family  was  living  at  this  time  in  his  mother's 
home  in  Perth  Amboy. 

For  a  few  years,  from  about  1807  to  1812,  he 
assumed  charge  of  a  theater  in  New  York  for  his 
friend  the  actor  T.  Apthorp  Cooper.  As  he  was 
engaged  on  a  salary,  this  experience  proved  to  be 
more  profitable  than  the  earlier  management.  He 
moved  his  family  to  New  York,  where  they 
lived  on  Beekman  Street,  and  he  became  closely 
associated  with  men  of  affairs  and  letters  in  the 
two  clubs  of  the  day,  the  Drone  and  the  Friendly. 
During  this  time  he  prepared  and  wrote  portions 
of  his  memoirs  of  the  actor  George  Fred  Cooke 
and  the  novelist  Charles  Brockden  Brown.38 
Another  position,  with  a  definite  salary  affixed, 
was  obtained  for  him  through  friends,  in  1814, 
when  he  was  appointed  assistant  paymaster  of 
the  militia  of  New  York.  He  held  this  place 
for  three  years.  Apparently  he  had  difficulty  in 
keeping  his  accounts  accurate,  for  he  was  charged 
with  defalcation  to  the  extent  of  a  thousand  dol 
lars.  A  careful  examination  of  his  books,  etc., 
revealed  the  gratifying  fact  that  the  mistake  was 

88  Memoirs  of  George  Fred  Cooke,  Esq,,  Late  of  the  Theatre 
Royal,  Covent  Garden;  by  William  Dunlap  (London,  1813;  2 
vols.).  The  Life  of  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  together  with 
Selections  from  the  Rarest  of  his  Printed  Works,  from  his 
Original  Letters,  and  from  his  Manuscripts  Before  Unpub 
lished.  By  William  Dunlap  (Philadelphia,  1815;  2  vols.). 


268    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

accidental  and  the  actual  deficit  was  only  one 
dollar. 

The  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  were  largely 
given  to  painting  and  exhibiting  pictures.  Thus 
he  gained  an  income  to  meet  his  actual  needs. 
But  he  was  not  satisfied  with  his  work,  and 
realized  that  it  would  have  only  temporary  appre 
ciation.  In  the  autumn  of  1819  he  went  to  Nor 
folk,  where  he  remained  six  months.  Taking  up 
the  story  of  his  life,  as  found  in  the  last  two 
volumes  of  manuscript  journals  in  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  we  find  many  revelations  of 
interest  and  pathos.  He  secured  commissions  for 
paintings  in  Norfolk,  largely  portraits,  to  the 
amount  of  three  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars.  The 
first  part  of  his  sojourn  was  alone;  but  later  his 
wife  joined  him.  The  promises  of  the  first 
weeks  failed  to  be  redeemed  in  some  cases.  To 
his  journal,  March  21,  1820,  he  confided: 

It  is  now  long  since  I  have  begun  a  picture  &  I  look 
anxiously  to  the  close  of  my  stay  here.  I  have  many 
visitors,  much  praise  &  flattery,  and  I  have  been  con 
stantly  employ'd,  but  after  all  shall  arrive  in  N.  Y.  per 
haps  as  poor  as  I  left  it.  I  have  supported  myself  &  my 
family,  &  perhaps  open'd  a  source  of  support  (or  more) 
for  the  future.  I  ought  to  be  thankful.  I  am,  altho'  my 
spirits  sink  sometimes. 

While  in  Norfolk  he  sketched  and  later 
painted  a  picture,  "Christ  Rejected,"  which 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  269 

became  very  popular  as  an  exhibit.  It  was  sent 
on  exhibition  to  Boston,  Portland,  and  elsewhere 
in  New  England,  and  as  far  west  as  Ohio.  In 
Portland  alone  the  returns  financially  were  three 
hundred  dollars  in  two  weeks;  in  New  York  it 
remained  fourteen  weeks  on  exhibition  and 
aggregated  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Minis 
ters  urged  their  parishioners  to  see  the  painting, 
and,  in  spite  of  marked  defects  in  drawing  and 
color,  it  was  widely  heralded.  While  in  Nor 
folk,  Dunlap  wrote,  and  had  printed,  a  descriptive 
pamphlet  outlining  the  characters  and  motif  of 
the  picture.39  He  acknowledged  his  indebtedness 
to  West's  painting  of  the  same  subject,  but  said : 
"It  is  scarcely  within  the  limits  of  possibility,  cer 
tainly  not  of  probability,  that  Mr.  West's  Picture 
should  ever  be  seen  in  the  western  world."  What 
seemed  to  him  improbable,  however,  happened 
in  a  short  time;  West's  painting  was  sent  to 
America  on  exhibition,  in  charge  of  his  son,  and 
Dunlap  was  compelled  to  make  some  modifica 
tions  in  his  painting,  where  the  figures  resembled 
his  model  too  closely. 

The  success  with  this  religious  subject  induced 
him  to  paint  others — "Christ  Bearing  the  Cross" 

88  Descriptive  Pamphlet  of  Dunlap' s  Painting  of  Christ 
Rejected  (Norfolk,  no  date).  See  full  title  in  the  Bibliog 
raphy,  p.  21. 


270     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

and  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse."40  According 
to  a  descriptive  pamphlet  printed  in  Boston  after 
the  death  of  Dunlap,  the  painting  of  "Death  on 
the  Pale  Horse,  or  Opening  of  the  First  Four 
Seals,"  reached  a  high-water  mark  of  popularity 
and  an  offer  of  ten  thousand  dollars  was  refused 
for  the  painting.41  Possibly  this  refers  to  West's 
painting  of  the  same  subject.  "A  Child  Return 
ing  from  School"  and  "The  Historic  Muse," 
were  painted  about  the  same  time,  while  Dunlap 
was  executing  a  commission  for  portraits  in 
Orwell,  Vermont. 

One  who  seeks  information  about  Dunlap,  the 
painter,  is  beset  with  discouragements.  In  view  of 
the  vast  amount  of  work  which  he  accomplished 
with  his  brush  and  pencil,  it  is  surprising  how 
little  can  now  be  traced.  On  the  other  hand,  his 
paintings  were  curios  rather  than  works  of  art  in 
the  true  meaning;  yet  they  gained  a  degree  of 
popularity  which  would  naturally  insure  them 
remembrance  until  the  present  time.  Looking  over 
the  catalogues  of  annual  exhibitions  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Design,  from  1826  to  1836, 
one  finds  Dunlap's  name  attached  to  scores  of 

40  The  first  was  painted  in  1824,  the  hitter  in  1828.  For 
detailed  study,  see  I  sham,  History  of  American  Painting 
(New  York,  1905),  pp.  186-201. 

"Descriptive  Pamphlet  of  Painting  of  Death  on  the  Pale 
Horse  (Boston,  1840). 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  271 

paintings  of  varied  kinds;  very  few  of  these  can 
now  be  traced.42  Among  the  portraits  mentioned 
on  these  lists  are  those  of  Governor  George  Clin 
ton,  Anthony  Bleecker,  General  P.  B.  Porter, 
Bishop  Channing  Moore,  of  Virginia,  and  George 
P.  Morris.  Subjects  of  religious  and  allegorical 
paintings  by  Dunlap,  exhibited  during  these  years, 
include  "Cupid  Sleeping,"  "Scene  from  Cooper's 
The  Spy,"  "Barabbas  and  the  Thieves,"  "Our 
Saviour  and  Mary  Magdalene  in  the  Garden," 
"Richard  and  Kenneth  from  Scott's  The  Talis 
man."  In  March,  1905,  there  were  sold  in 
Philadelphia  a  collection  of  miniatures  on  ivory 
and  some  sketches  in  oil  and  water-color  by  Dun- 
lap.  The  latter  were  landscapes  in  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  Philadelphia.  There  were  six 
teen  miniatures,  only  four  of  which  could  be 
surely  recognized — Mrs.  Wignell,  Mrs.  Barley, 
James  Fennell,  and  the  artist's  miniature  of  him 
self.43 

As  the  years  passed,  Dunlap  was  weakened  by 
sickness  and  more  financial  reverses.  Two  bene 
fits  were  arranged  for  him — one  by  his  friends 
among  actors  and  playwrights,  the  other  by  his 
colleagues  among  artists.  The  first  was  in  Feb- 

"Dunlap  was  the  organizer  as  well  as  the  beneficiary  of 
this  academy;  see  Isham,  op.  cit.,  chap.  10. 

43  An  attractive  catalogue  of  this  sale  was  compiled  by 
Stan  V.  Henkels. 


272     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

ruary,  1833,  although  Dunlap  recorded  the  month 
as  March;  and  the  sum  of  twenty-five  hundred 
dollars  was  netted  for  his  benefit.  For  this  occa 
sion  a  poem  was  written  by  George  P.  Morris.44 
The  second  benefit  was  five  years  later — a  loan 
exhibition,  known  as  the  Dunlap  Exhibition,  in 
November,  1838.  Paintings  were  loaned  by 
Trumbull,  Cole,  Durand,  Jarvis,  Copley,  and  the 
following  by  Dunlap :  "Calvary,"  "The  Historic 
Muse,"  "A  Child  Returning  from  School," 
"Scene  from  The  Spy,"  and  various  portraits. 
In  announcing  this  exhibition  and  soliciting  the 
patronage  of  the  public,  G.  C.  Verplanck  empha 
sized  its  purpose  as  a  benefit  to  our 

estimable  fellow-citizen,  MR.  DUNLAP,  who  is  well 
known  to  you,  as  having  rendered  great  and  lasting 
services  to  art,  history  and  literature  of  our  state  and 
country.  In  the  decline  of  an  honourable  life,  devoted 
.mainly  to  these  objects  on  which  he  still  exerts  his  remain 
ing  strength  with  unimpaired  zeal  and  patriotism,  he  finds 
his  old  age,  which  has  so  many  claims  to  the  respect  and 
gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  harassed  by  ill-health  and 
straitened  circumstances.40 

The  last  volume  of  Dunlap's  manuscript 
journal,  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society— 

44  This  poem  is  included  in  Occasional  Addresses,  edited  by 
Laurence  Hutton  and  William  Carey  (published  by  the  Dun- 
lap  Society,  1890),  pp.  51-53. 

*"A  flattering  estimate  of  Dunlap's  ability  was  in  a  letter 
from  Verplanck  in  The  Talisman,  1829. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  273 

evidently  the  last  he  ever  wrote — is  covered  with 
marbled  paper  and  shows,  in  the  feebleness  of 
handwriting,  the  illness  which  was  upon  him.  He 
was  ambitious  and  industrious  to  the  last,  how 
ever,  anxious  to  finish  the  histories  of  New  York, 
and  also  the  history  of  the  progress  of  art  in  this 
country.  A  few  scattered  extracts  from  the 
journal  will  be  most  fitting  here : 

June  26th,  1833.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  last  vol.  that 
I  was  very  busy  in  Phila.,  that  I  was  not  at  ease  as 
to  health,  that  I  saw  many  persons  to  collect  materials  for 
my  history  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  America,  yet  I  left  much 
undone.  This  day  I  sit  down  again  in  New  York  to  con 
tinue  my  labours  &  enjoy  the  blessings  conferred  upon  me 
&  be  thankful. 

July  loth,  1833.  See  Durand  &  engage  him  to  engrave 
my  portrait  for  the  Hist,  of  the  Arts. 

July  20th,  1833.  My  work  appeared  to  bring  on  stric 
ture.  Is  it  the  effect  of  natural  decay?  Must  I  refrain 
from  this,  so  delightful  to  me?  Read  Gibbon's  Rome. 

August  26th,  1833.  Begun  2  portraits.  Met  Paulding 
&  Cooper.  Bank  acc't  $123.  [Notes  on  books  read  for 
his  history  and  mention  of  increasing  illness.] 

Thursday,  April  3rd,  1834.  [After  an  operation.]  I  sin 
cerely  believed  it  to  be  my  duty  &  the  will  of  God  that  I 
should  undergo  this  operation  &  to  his  will  I  hope  in  all 
things  to  resign  myself  with  thanks  &  gratitude.  Read 
a  little  &  think  a  little  relatively  to  my  Hist,  of  Art. 

In  addition  to  these  histories  of  the  theater 
and  of  art,  Dunlap  wrote,  during  the  last  years, 


274     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

a  school  history  of  New  York,46  in  dialogue, 
and  a  History  of  the  New  Netherlands,  which 
appeared  almost  simultaneously  with  his  death. 

Few  men  were  more  gracious  and  generous 
than  Dunlap.  It  often  seems,  in  reading  his  life, 
that  he  was  the  victim  of  the  schemes  and  knavery 
of  others,  because  of  his  very  kindliness  and 
credulity.  An  anecdote  told  by  Dr.  John  Francis 
illustrates  this  trait.47  A  French  refugee,  Dr. 
Pierre  Michaux,  had  published  a  tract,  with  a 
Latin  title,  on  some  surgical  subject.  In  spite  of 
its  distorted  facts,  it  attracted  much  attention. 
Dr.  Wright  Post,  an  eminent  but  irascible  phy 
sician,  begged  Dunlap  to  write  a  caricature  of  the 
French  doctor  and  his  tract.  Ready  to  please  his 
friends  and  happy  to  be  chosen,  Dunlap  wrote  a 
satire  which  was  used  as  an  after-piece  at  the 
John  Street  Theater.  It  was  called  Fract  \ti\i 
Minimi  Digiti.  Michaux,  hearing  of  the  carica 
ture,  saw  it  at  the  theater,  and  was  so  exasperated 
at  its  mimicry  of  his  features  and  manners  that  he 
attacked  Dunlap  on  the  street,  beating  him  so 
severely  that  the  playwright  was  ill  for  several 
days. 

Dunlap's  work   in  both  art   and   drama   was 

"A  History  of  New  York  for  Schools  (New  York,  1837. 
2  vols.,  i6mo).  History  of  the  New  Netherlands,  etc.  (New 
York,  1839;  2  vols.,  8vo). 

"John  W.  Francis,  Old  New  York,  1866,  pp.  66-8. 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP  275 

ephemeral,  judged  by  modern  standards.  He 
wrote  plays  rapidly  to  catch  the  favor  of  the  hour, 
and  they  were  soon  forgotten.  He  lost  health 
and  patrimony  in  a  seemingly  futile  effort  to  ele 
vate  the  theater  and  cultivate  a  taste  for  native 
talent.  He  gave  fitful  attention  to  art,  in  his 
youth,  gaining  only  mediocre  skill  which  yielded 
him  a  source  of  income  for  his  later  years.  Turn 
ing  from  an  estimate  of  his  personal  achievement 
to  his  influence  on  American  drama  and  art,  we 
must  admit  that  Dunlap  should  be  honored.  His 
ideals  were  rudely  treated  in  the  struggle  of  life, 
but  he  never  lost  his  faith  in  them  nor  in  his 
countrymen.  He  believed  that  later  workers 
would  create  something  worthy,  in  place  of  his 
own  defective  products. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN  AND 
PIONEERS  IN  FICTION 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


From  a  miniature  |>aintr<l  by  William  Ihmlap,  iSoo,  engraved 
by  J.  B.  Forrr>t;  reproduced  from  \ntinn, il  Portrait  (.lallery  oj 
Distinguished  Americans,  1835. 


VIII 

CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN  AND 
PIONEERS  IN  FICTION 

In  the  history  of  the  world's  literature,  fiction, 
in  its  modern  meaning,  has  been  one  of  the  latest 
forms  of  development.  For  various  reasons,  the 
novelist  came  late  in  America.  A  realization  of 
the  true  relation  of  man  to  his  neighbors  and  his 
surroundings  must  precede  the  creation  of  the 
novel.  This  grasp  of  conditions,  and  the  ability 
to  portray  them  in  vivid  narrative,  did  not  exist 
in  America  until  the  stability  of  the  nation  had 
been  assured.  Slowly  the  colonists  had  emerged 
from  repression,  and  indifference  to  nature, 
beauty,  art,  until  they  seemed  to  have  a  new 
appreciation  of  such  influences.  Then  this 
awakening  was  retarded  by  the  struggle  for  free 
dom.  War  and  its  issues  were  the  themes  which 
commended  themselves  to  the  patriot-writers. 
When  independence  had  been  won,  unity  was  not 
yet  established,  and  literature  took  the  forms  of 
argumentation  and  satire  to  secure  national  har 
mony  and  a  stable  government.  Then  followed 
a  period  of  bombast,  an  ambition  to  be  original. 
Prodigal  pens  did  not  wait  for  training,  but  wrote 
with  a  braggadocio  which  took  the  place  of  art. 
279 


a8o    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Under  such  conditions,  the  first  products  of 
imaginative  type  were  generally  in  meter — odes 
and  a  few  bizarre  dramas  already  mentioned. 
The  beginnings  of  a  national  fiction  were  still 
delayed.  In  1789  Isaiah  Thomas  printed,  at  his 
Boston  shop,  a  novel.  Tte  Povctr  of  Sympathy; 
or,  tht  Triumph  of  Nature  founded  in  Truth" 
This  was  without  name  of  author,  but  in  the  copy 
at  the  American  Antiquarian  Society  there  is  a 
pencil  note,  after  the  title,  "by  Mrs,  Sarah  Went- 
worth  (Apthorp)  Morton."  Like  other  early 
tales  of  this  period  both  in  England  and  in 
America,  this  was  a  story  of  seduction  and  deceit, 
with  a  pronounced  moral  The  author  dedicated 
the  two  tiny  volumes — 

To  the   Yoon*  Ladies,  of   United   Columbia.     These 

to  expose  the  fatal  Consequences  of  Seduction;   To  in- 
tbe  Female  Mind  with  a  Principle  of  Self  Compla- 
to  Promote  the  JV^BUMIJ  of  Human  Life.,  are 
od  Sincerity.  By  their  Friend  and 


The    Author.      Boston.      January.    1769. 

The  tale  is  in  the  form  of  letters  from  the 

young  women  and  men  introduced — Harrington, 

Worthy.    Harriot,    and    Myra.      A    sample    of 

the  sentimental  style  of  this  pioneer  effort  at 


CHARLES  BROCKDEX  BROWN     281 

elegant — her  disposition  inclining  to  the  melancholy,  and 
yet  her  temper  is  affable,  and  her  manners  easy.  And  as 
I  poured  my  tender  TOWS  into  the  heart  of  my  tdoiud,  a 
crimson  drop  stole  across  her  cheek,  and  thus  I  con 
strue  it  in  my  own  favour,  as  the  sweet  messenger  of 
hope.1 

The  following  year  appeared  Charlotte 
Temple,  published  in  England  in  1/90,  and  four 
years  later  in  America.  Its  author,  Mrs.  Samma 
Rowson.  daughter  of  a  British  naval  officer,  had 
been  encouraged  to  write  her  impressions  of 
America.  Some  of  these  she  had  interwoven  in 
her  earlier  novels,  Victoria  and  The  Inquisitor; 
but  they  had  meager  interest  to  Americans  when 
compared  with  the  later  tear-inciting  tale  of  brass 
buttons,  American  war-scenes,  and  feminine 
tragedy  and  sensibility  in  Charlotte  Temple.  This 
maintained  a  wonderful  hold  upon  the  readers  of 
its  own  and  the  next  generation.2 

Royall  Tyler  and  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridgc 
wrote  some  fiction  as  well  as  drama.  Their  narra 
tives,  The  Algerine  Capth'e  and  Modern  Chmalry, 

1  The  Power  of  Sympathy;  or,  the  TRIUMPH  of  NATURE 
founded  m  TRUTH.     2  rois.     Printed  at  Boston,  by  Isaiah 
Thomas  and  Company.    Sold  at  their  Bookstore,  \o.  45  Serr- 
bury  Street,  and  at  said  Thomas's  Bookstore  in  WORCESTER 
(1/89),  PP-  7-9- 

2  Charlotte  Temple  (London,   1790;  New  York,  1794).     It 
has  recently  been  reprinted.    Several  editions  appeared  earlier. 
The   grave   of  the   heroine   is   often   searched   for  by   tourists 
in  Trinity  Churchyard,  Xew  York. 


282     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

seem  slow  reading  to  the  student  today,  but  they 
aroused  enthusiasm  at  the  time  of  their  appear 
ance,  and  are  still  of  interest  as  revelations  of  the 
tastes  and  customs  of  the  period  which  they  por 
tray.  Both  were  of  the  adventurous  type,  ming 
ling  romance  with  heavy  humor.3 

During  the  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century 
several  romances  were  written  in  England  and  on 
the  continent,  of  the  sentimental,  fantastic  kind, 
like  Lewis'  The  Monk,  Mrs.  Radcliffe's  The 
Mysteries  of  Udolpho,  and  Godwin's  Caleb  Wil- J 
Hams.  These  novels  were  published  in  1794,  and 
became  models  for  initial  efforts  in  American 
fiction  of  the  early  nineteenth  century.  While 
authors  advocated  originality,  and  often  at 
tempted  to  achieve  it,  the  earliest  Americahnovels 
were  really  adaptations  of  English  models. 
The  reflex  influence  of  Puritanism  was  shown 
in  a  few  stories  of  this  time,  fittingly  called  "melo 
dramatic  piety,"  as  Caroline  Warren's  The 
Gamesters;  or,  The  Ruins  of  Innocence,  and  The 
Power  of  Sympathy,  outlined  above. 

Charles  Brockden  Brown  began  his  work,  as 
the  first  American  who  chose  fiction  as  a  special 
field,  at  the  meeting  of  the  eighteenth  and  nine- 

'  The  Algerine  Captive,  or  the  Adventures  of  Doctor  Updike 
Under  hill,  six  years  a  prisoner  among  the  Algerine  s  (Walpole, 
'797)  I  Modern  Chivalry,  or  Adventures  of  Captain  John  Far 
rago  and  Teaguc  O'Regan,  his  Servant  (Philadelphia,  1792; 
1796  ;  2  vols.). 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     283 

teenth  centuries.  His  novels  show  the  transitional 
influences  from  romance  to  realism.  His  adher 
ence  to  English  models  of  his  time,  and  also  his 
aim  to  be  original  in  background,  are  expressed  in 
a  sentence  which  he  wrote  after  he  had  finished 
his  first  novel,  Wieland,  in  1798: 

When  a  mental  comparison  is  made  between  this 
and  the  mass  of  novels,  I  am  inclined  to  be  pleased  with 
my  own  production.  But  when  the  objects  of  comparison 
are  changed,  and  I  revolve  the  transcendant  merits  of 
Caleb  Williams,  my  pleasure  is  diminished,  and  is  pre 
served  from  a  total  extinction  only  by  the  reflection  that 
this  performance  is  the  first.* 

The  life  of  this  first  American  novelist  has 
been  told  discursively,  but  inadequately  as  regards 
vital  information,  by  his  friend,  William  Dunlap. 
Unfortunately,  the  sources  of  the  biographer's 
material — many  letters  and  journals — were  not 
liberally  used  by  him,  and  may  have  perished  with 
the  mass  of  his  own  literary  remains.  Like  the 
pioneer  painter,  Benjamin  West,  Brown  came 
from  Quaker  stock,  which  seemed  to  scorn  all 
aesthetic  delights;  yet,  in  the  sweet  sanity  and 
peace  of  temperament  which  characterize  this 
sect  there  existed  the  best  soil  for  fruitage  of 
the  imagination.  Brown,  however,  had  other 
inheritance  which  gave  him  strong  emotions  and 

4  William  Dunlap,  Life  of  Charles  Brockden  Brown  (1815), 
Vol.  I,  p.  107.  • 

r 


284     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

fancies;  for  in  his  veins  Norman  blood  mingled 
with  that  of  England. 

His  uncle,  from  whom  he  derived  his  middle 
name,  held  positions  of  honor  in  early  Philadel- 
phian  history.  He  was  "the  skilful  conveyancer 
and  great  scrivener"  who  framed  the  articles  of 
agreement  for  the  Philadelphia  Library  Company, 
instituted  by  Franklin,  in  1731.  The  family  story 
regarding  this  uncle's  youth,  and  his  emigration 
to  America,  was  a  favorite  with  his  nephew,  and 
is  of  general  interest.  When  he  was  a  lad 
studying  law  in  England,  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
celebrated  barrister  who  was  at  odds  with  the  gov 
ernment  of  Charles  II.  Accidentally,  the  appren 
tice  was  hidden  in  the  room  where  his  employer 
and  some  friends  were  discussing  a  plot  against 
the  government.  When  the  youth  was  discovered, 
various  suggestions  were  made  regarding  his  fate ; 
for  he  could  not  be  left  at  liberty  with  such  a 
weighty  secret.  To  save  him  from  death,  his 
employer  testified  that  he  was  of  "too  feeble  a 
mind"  to  cause  any  injury  to  them  by  his  knowl 
edge,  but  he  agreed  that  the  boy,  for  safety, 
should  be  shipped  to  the  American  colonies. 

Our  pioneer  novelist  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
January,  1771,  probably  at  117  South  Second 
Street ;  this  was  his  father's  home  for  many 
years.  He  was  weak  physically,  but  studious  at  a 
very  early  age.  According  to  family  tradition,  he 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     285 

could  be  left  alone  for  hours  on  the  floor  at  home, 
even  as  a  baby,  if  he  were  provided  with  a  book. 
One  of  the  chief  delights  of  his  childhood  was  to 
climb  upon  the  chairs  and  tables  and  study  the  few 
maps  upon  the  walls.  At  ten  years  he  showed 
an  unusual  maturity  of  mind.  An  incident  is  told 
to  illustrate  this,  which  suggests  a  touch  of  prig- 
gishness  in  him.  A  visitor  had  aroused  his  resent 
ment  by  calling  him  "boy,"  and  questioning  his 
statements  of  facts.  The  child  replied:  "Why 
does  he  call  me  boy?  Does  he  not  know  that  it 
is  neither  size  nor  age,  but  understanding  that 
makes  the  man?  I  could  ask  him  an  hundred 
questions  none  of  which  he  could  answer."  5 

Robert  Proud  was  a  famous  schoolmaster  of 
Philadelphia,  as  well  as  its  local  historian.  To 
his  school  young  Brown  was  sent  to  exert  his 
already  strained  mind  and  nerves  by  close 
application  to  classic  texts.  Fortunately,  the 
schoolmaster  had  an  understanding,  rare  for  that 
day,  of  wholesome  educational  methods.  He 
realized  the  needs  of  his  pupil,  and  insisted  that 
he  should  often  leave  his  books  and  go  into  the 
woods,  where  nature  would  be  both  a  doctor  and 
a  teacher.  Although  to  the  boy  the  walks  often 
proved  a  time  for  lonely,  gloomy  fancies,  yet  he 

B  Dunlap's  Life  of  Brown,  Vol.  I,  pp.  12,  13.  Jared 
Sparks,  A  Library  of  American  Biography,  New  York,  1839. 
Vol.  I,  pp.  122 ;  article  on  Brown  by  William  H.  Prescott. 


286     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

gained  impressions  of  fine  scenery  which  were 
used  afterward  in  his  writing. 

He  was  early  convinced  that  he  would  be  an 
author,  and  began  with  imitations  of  Homer 
and  Virgil,  Ossian  and  Milton.  American  history 
next  attracted  him,  and  he  wrote  some  epics  to 
celebrate  the  discovery  of  America  and  the  deeds 
of  his  heroes,  Cortez  and  Pizarro.  He  did  not 
venture,  at  first,  to  break  through  all  custom  and 
distress  his  family  by  the  choice  of  literature  as  a 
profession;  so  he  followed  the  example  of  his 
father  and  three  brothers,  and  studied  law. 
Meanwhile  he  had  yearnings  for  literature,  spent 
much  of  his  time  in  spinning  fancies  and  literary 
hopes,  and  contributed  some  verses  and  essays 
to  local  journals.  He  told,  with  disgust,  of  the 
fate  of  a  "Poetical  Address  to  Franklin,"  which 
had  been  sent  to  an  Edentown  newspaper : 

The  blundering  printer  from  his  zeal  or  his  ignorance, 
or  perhaps  from  both,  substituted  'he  name  of  Washing 
ton  for  that  of  Franklin.  Washington,  therefore,  stands 
arrayed  in  awkward  colours.  Philosophy  smiles  to  behold 
her  darling  son ;  she  turns  with  horror  and  disgust  from 
those  who  have  won  the  laurel  of  victory  in  the  field  of 
battle  to  this  her  favorite  candidate  who  had  never  par 
ticipated  in  such  bloody  glory  and  whose  fame  was  de 
rived  from  the  conquest  of  philosophy  alone.* 

The  most  absurd  qualities  were  thus  attributed  to 

'William  Dunlap,  Life  of  Charles  Brockden  Brown  (New 
York,  1815),  Vol.  I,  p.  17,  18. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     287 

Washington,  until  the  poem  became  an  unintelli 
gible  farce,  and  was  even  regarded  by  some  read 
ers  as  an  intentional  insult.  More  successful  was 
the  young  author  in  the  series  of  essays  called 
"The  Rhapsodist,"  which  began  in  the  Columbian 
Magazine  in  April,  1789. 

The  pleasure  which  Brown  found  in  writing, 
and  in  the  companionship  of  his  friends  of  liter 
ary  tastes,  especially  William  Wilkinson  and  Dr. 
Elihu  Smith,7  induced  him  to  give  up  law  and 
devote  himself  exclusively  to  literature.  The 
effect  of  this  decision  upon  his  family  and 
acquaintances  may  be  realized  from  a  comment  of 
a  local  historian,  after  the  novelist's  death : 

Mr.  Brown  had  received  an  education  which  qualified 
him  for  the  profession  which  secured  wealth  free  from 
the  risks  of  commerce, — the  profession,  from  which  pro 
ceeded  our  statesmen,  legislators,  and  rulers; — yet  he  pre 
ferred  the  toilsome  occupation  of  book-making,  from  the 
pure  love  of  literature  and  a  benevolent  desire  to  benefit 
his  fellow-creatures.8 

The  first  year  after  Brown  gave  up  the 
law  for  literature  he  spent  largely  in  New  York, 

7  The   death   of   Wilkinson  in   early   manhood   was   a   great 
grief  to  Brown.     Dr.   Elihu  Smith  was  at  this  time  studying 
medicine    in     Philadelphia.       With    another    friend,     William 
Johnson,  a  lawyer,  he  made  a  home  in  New  York,  to  which 
Brown  came  for  a  part  of  the  year  1797. 

8  See    Henry    Simpson,    Eminent   Philadelphians    (Philadel 
phia,  1859). 


288     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

passing  some  of  the  time  with  Dr.  Smith,  and 
also  becoming  an  inmate  of  the  home  of  William 
Dunlap.  Evidence  of  the  latter  fact  has  been 
found  in  a  manuscript  letter  from  Brown  to  Dun- 
lap  in  the  possession  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  is  here  given  by  permission. 
It  was  written  after  Brown's  return  to  Phila 
delphia.  The  morose  and  extravagant  tone  of 
self-depreciation  was  characteristic  of  the  writer: 

Philadelphia,  Jan'y  I,   1798. 
To  William  Dunlap,  Care  of  Dunlap  &  Judah,  Pearl  St., 

New  York. 

It  is  nearly  twelve  months  since  I  parted  from  you. 
I  believe  I  have  not  written  to  you  nor  you  written  to 
me  since.  How  shall  I  account  for  your  silence?  The 
task  is  an  easy  one.  I  was  not  an  object  of  sufficient  im 
portance  to  justify  the  trouble.  My  infirmities  &  follies 
were  too  rooted  for  you  to  hope  their  cure.  Admonition 
&  remonstrance  under  your  own  hand,  would  be  super 
fluous  to  this  end.  Hence  your  habitual  reserve  & 
silence  of  the  pen  suffered  no  interruption  on  my  ac 
count.  I  lived  with  you  six  months.  During  that  time 
you,  no  doubt,  scrutinized  my  conduct  &  character  with 
accuracy.  You  must  have  formed  some  conclusions 
respecting  me,  but  you  thought  proper  to  be  silent  respect 
ing  them.  You  weighed  the  opposite  advantages  of  com 
munication  &  reserve.  You  decided  in  favour  of  the 
latter.  I  revere  your  rectitude,  my  friend,  in  as  great 
a  degree  as  I  detest  my  own  imbecility :  but  it  is  allowable 
for  me  to  question  the  propriety  of  your  decision. 

Communication,    it    appears    to    me,    was    your    duty. 
Whatever   was   my   depravity,   it   did   not   sink   me  below 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     289 

deserving  a  mere  verbal  effort  for  my  restoration.  Had  I 
led  the  way  you  would  have  followed.  There  needed  only 
an  introduction  of  the  topic  by  me.  Had  I  mentioned  my 
opinion  of  your  incommunicative  temper  &  importuned 
you  for  a  knowledge  of  your  sentiments,  the  barrier 
would  have  been  removed.  It  is  true  I  was  criminal  in 
failing  to  employ  this  means.  Were  you  exempt  from 
blame  in  making  these  means  necessary?  Think  of  this, 
my  friend,  if  I  may  still  call  you  by  that  name.  Surely, 
all  esteem  for  me  has  not  perished  in  your  bosom 

I  think  upon  the  life  of  last  winter  with  self-loathing 
almost  insupportable.  Alas !  my  friend,  few  consolations 

of  a  self-approving  mind  have   fallen  to  my  lot I 

am  sometimes  apt  to  think  that  few  human  beings  have 
drunk  so  deeply  of  the  cup  of  self-abhorrence  as  I  have. 
....  Whether  it  will  end  but  with  my  life  I  know  not. 

I  have  written  to  Elihu  and  informed  him  of  the  trans 
actions  of  the  last  few  months.  You  will  of  course  be 
made  acquainted  with  them.  I  know  not  whether  your 
engagements  have  allowed  you  to  prosecute  any  similar 
undertaking.  I  have  longed  for  a  knowledge  of  your  views 
&  situation.  I  am  not  entitled  to  know  this  but  by  second 
hand.  I  make  no  demands  upon  you.  As  I  am,  you 
despise  me.  I  shall  die,  as  I  have  lived,  a  victim  to  per 
verse  and  incurable  habits.  My  progress  in  knowledge 
has  enlightened  my  judgment,  without  adding  to  my 
power. 

I  have  done  nothing  to  deserve  the  esteem  of  your 
wife.  I  do  not  therefore  expect  it.  That  is  no  reason 
which  [sic]  I  should  refuse  her  my  respect.  She  is  in  the 
highest  degree  entitled  to  it ;  present  it  therefore  to  her. 

C.    B.    Brown. 

In  a  note,  signed  "W.   Dunlap,"  below  this 


290     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

letter,  is  the  comment:  "So  at  certain  moments 
could  think  &  write  one  of  the  giirest  &  best 
beloved  of  men."  y  Such  a  letter,  and  others  from 
which  we  shall  quote,  are  of  great  assistance  in 
interpreting  the  strange  haunting  fancies  and 
moods  which  assailed  Brown  as  novelist. 

Dr.  Elihu  Smith  exerted  much  influence  in  giv 
ing  poise  to  the  emotions  of  Brown,  and  in  urging 
him  to  definite  literary  work.  The  two  men  were 
contrasts  in  many  ways.  The  physician  was  abso 
lutely  sane  and  practical,  and  his  geniality  has 
passed  into  many  literary  records.  At  his  apart 
ments  in  Pine  Street  the  Friendly  Club  met — a 
band  of  young  lawyers,  physicians,  and  authors. 
Literature  was  becoming  fashionable,  but  the 
media  for  its  expression  were  few.  Clubs  in  vari 
ous  centers  started  magazines,  which  were  gener 
ally  short-lived,  but  served  their  purpose  as  a 
means  of  expression  for  the  members.  Such  was 
the  aim  of  the  familiar  Medical  Repository,  estab 
lished  in  1794  by  Dr.  Smith  and  two  other  phy 
sicians.  By  contact  with  such  patient,  wise  minds, 
Brown  found  an  incentive  to  write  both  essays 
and  fiction. 

Yellow  fever  was  a  scourge  in  America  dur 
ing  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

*A  note  in  Dunlap's  manuscript  journal,  April  12,  1798, 
says  that  he  was  then  visiting  Brown  in  Philadelphia  at  119 
South  Second  Street. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     291 

With  other  portents  of  evil,  it  increased  the  emo 
tional  ferment  which  was  shown  in  many  direc 
tions.  This  disease  had  raged  in  Philadelphia  in 
1793;  its  scenes  of  devastation  furnished  Brown 
with  the  germ  for  his  novel  Arthur  Mervyn.  His 
family  left  the  city  to  escape  contagion.  When 
the  plague  attacked  New  York  in  1798,  Brown 
was  there  with  his  friend,  Dr.  Elihu  Smith.  His 
brothers  urged  him  to  return  to  Philadelphia, 
but  he  refused  to  leave  his  friend.  They  adopted 
sanitary  safeguards  and  faced  the  danger.  A 
strange  appeal  came  to  their  humanity,  and  proved 
a  fatal  risk.  Among  the  friends  who  had  been 
in  their  circle  in  New  York  for  a  year  was  Dr. 
Joseph  Scandella.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  leave 
for  Italy,  he  learned  that  two  of  his  compatriots, 
a  young  girl  and  her  mother,  were  ill  and  in  want 
in  Philadelphia.  He  went  to  their  aid,  remained 
until  both  had  died  of  yellow  fever,  and  then 
returned  to  New  York,  to  find  that  he  could  not 
secure  lodging  in  any  inn,  as  he  was  already  show 
ing  signs  of  the  disease.  Dr.  Smith  took  this 
friend  to  his  own  home,  hoping  to  cure  him  and 
not  become  infected ;  but  the  fever  attacked  both 
Dr.  Smith  and  Brown.  The  latter  recovered,  but 
found  that  both  the  physicians  had  died.  This 
loss  of  friendship  was  an  overwhelming  grief  to 
Brown,  but  he  rallied  his  mental  powers  and  tried 
to  write  something  worthy  of  his  friend  who  had 


292     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

been  such  an  inspiration.  The  home  of  William 
Dunlap,  at  Perth  Amboy,  again  became  his  resi 
dence  for  a  brief  time.  Afterward  he  returned  to 
Philadelphia. 

Before  the  death  of  Dr.  Smith,  Brown  had 
written  a  dialogue-essay,  "The  Rights  of 
Women,"  which  was  printed  in  book-form,  under 
the  title  Alcuin.™  The  "Advertisement"  in  the 
front  of  the  book  is  dated  March,  1787)  and  is 
signed  by  "E.  H.  Smith,"  who  staTes  that  the 
material  was  "put  in  his  hands  for  publication  by 
a  friend."  The  argument  of  Alcuin  was  in  behalf 
of  more  justice  for  women,  equal  suffrage,  and 
better  education.  The  woman  maintained  that, 
if  the  intelligence  of  men  was  superior  to  that  of 
women,  it  was  only  a  proof  "in  how  mournful  a 
degree  that  capacity  has  been  neglected  or  per 
verted."  In  the  same  magazine  had  appeared, 
two  months  earlier  and  unsigned,  "The  Man  at 
Home" — a  series  of  rhapsodic  musings.  In  June 
of  the  same  year  the  first  chapters  of  Arthur 
Mervyn;  or,  Memoirs  of  the  Year  /7PJ,  were 
printed  in  this  journal,  although  the  book  was 
not  finished  and  published  until  the  next  year. 

Such  scattering  publications  in  magazines  pre- 

10  Alcuin:  A  Dialogue  (New  York,  1798;  77  pages).  This 
was  first  printed  as  "The  Rights  of  Women"  in  the  Weekly 
Magazine  of  Original  Essays,  Fugitive  Pieces  and  Interesting 
Intelligence,  Vol.  I,  1798  (Philadelphia). 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     293 

faced  the  printing  of  his  first  book  in  fiction.  On 
the  cover  of  this  Weekly  Magazine  were  solicited 
"Proposals  for  the  publication  of  a  novel,  Sky 
Walk,  or  the  Man  Unknown  to  Himself."  Brown, 
who  was  the  author  of  this  story,  accepted  the 
most  promising  of  the  proposals — namely,  that 
which  bore  the  larger  share  of  the  expense — and 
the  publication  began.  When  the  book  was 
nearly  completed  in  press,  the  printer  died.  His 
executors  refused  to  finish  the  work,  or  to  sell  the 
sheets  at  any  reasonable  price;  so  the  effort  was 
useless  for  the  time.  A  reference  in  the  manu 
script  journal  of  Dunlap,  April  n,  1798,  suggests 
that  this  first,  unfinished  novel  contained  the  germ, 
at  least,  of  Brown's  later  story  Edgar  Huntley, 
Dunlap  wrote  in  his  journal :  "Call  on  Brown 
who  goes  with  me  to  bookseller's  &  gives  me 
some  account  of  his  'Sky  Walk,'  he  says  it  is 
founded  on  Somnambulism." 

More  information  of  a  personal  nature  about 
Brown,  and  his  romantic  interests  during  this 
year,  is  furnished  in  extracts  from  Dunlap's 
manuscript  journals.  The  first  is  dated  "May 
ist;  Call  with  Smith  &  my  wife  to  see  Miss 
Potts,  C.  B.  B.'s  wished-for."  Again:  "May 
3rd;  Miss  Potts  drinks  tea  with  us."  For 
some  reason,  in  spite  of  the  hospitality  of  his 
friends  and  his  own  ardor  of  temperament, 
Brown  did  not  secure  his  "wished-for"  as  his 


, 


294    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

wife.  Possibly  the  gloom  of  spirit  which  fol 
lowed  during  the  next  few  months,  and  which 
was  indicated  in  the  letter  to  Dunlap  already 
quoted,  was  enhanced  by  this  disappointment. 

If  success  be  gauged  by  the  praise  of  a  few 
friends,  and  by  sufficient  sale  of  books  to.  pay  the 
expenses  of  their  publication,  then  Brown  was 
successful  during  the  next  two  years;  for  there 
issued  from  the  press  four  volumes  of  fiction  in 
1798  and  1799.  Wicland;  or,  The  Transforma 
tion,  the  first  to  appear,  has  remained  in  memory 
as  Brown's  most  representative  work  in  fiction. 
It  contained  unquestioned  evidence  of  originality 
and  imaginative  skill ;  but  his  later,  rapidly  pub 
lished  novels  failed  to  fulfil  the  promise  of  this 
first  book.  Wieland  is  a  pot-pourri  of  strange 
sensations,  isolated  scenes  of  tragic  strength,  bits 
of  fine  description,  and  labored,  discursive  style. 
It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  story  with  more  Jan- 
tastic,  incredible  incidents,  which  the  reader  is 
supposed  to  accept  as  "supernaturalities,"  al 
though  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  simple  explanation 
for  many  of  the  absurd  devices  of  the  novelist's 
imagination.  There  are  serious  dissertations 
upon  a  theory  of  self-combustion  and  the  elixir 
of  life  hypnotism  and  ventriloquism  combine  to 
make  an  interesting  villain/  The  author  is  not 
willing,  however,  to  let  the  reader  accept  the  pal 
pable  explanation  of  the  blighting  influence,  "the 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     295 

diabolical  malice,"  of  this  character,  Carwin.  He 
seeks  to  wrap  about  him  a  veil  of  mystery  and  to 
introduce  him  in  labored  narration  : 

One  afternoon  I  was  standing  in  the  door  of  my 
house  when  I  marked  a  person  passing  close  to  the  edge 
of  the  bank  that  was  in  front.  His  gait  was  awkward  and 
rustic.  His  form  was  ungainly  and  disproportioned. 
Shoulders  broad  and  square,  breast  sunken,  his  head 
drooping,  his  body  of  uniform  breadth,  supported  by  long 
and  lank  legs,  were  the  ingredients  of  his  frame.  His 
garb  was  not  ill-adapted  to  such  a  figure.  A  slouched 
hat,  tarnished  by  the  weather,  a  coat  of  thick  gray  cloth, 
cut  and  wrought,  as  it  seemed,  by  a  country  tailor,  blue 
worsted  stockings,  and  shoes  fastened  by  thongs,  and 
deeply  discolored  by  dust,  which  brush  had  never  dis 
turbed,  constituted  his  dress.11 

Following  this  passage  is  a  minute  description 
of  the  impression  made  upon  the  woman  by  this 
passer-by,  her  surprise  at  his  fascinating  face, 
and  especially  the  tremors  which  thrilled  her  at 
the  sound  of  his  voice  as  he  asked  for  a  drink  of 
buttermilk  from  the  dairy-maid:  "When  he 
uttered  the  words  'for  sweet  charity's  sake,'  I 
dropped  the  cloth  which  I  held  in  my  hand,  my 
heart  overflowed  with  sympathy,  and  my  eyes 
with  unbidden  tears."  Such  florid  emotionalism 
was  largely  typical  of  the  writing  of  that  period, 
but  it  found  an  extremist  in  Brown.  A  recent 


or    the    Transformation    .(New    York,     1798), 
chap.  6,  pp.  58-60. 


296     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

historian  of  American  literature  has  said,  with 
/justice:      "Brown    frequently    raised    a    super- 
t       (  structure    of    mystery    on    a    basis    ludicrously 
\weak."  '2 

The  real  plot  of  the  story  was  based  upon  the 
hallucination  of  a  father  that  he  had  received 
command,  from  supernatural  sources,  to  murder 
his  family.  It  is  evident  that  this  theme  was 
suggested  to  him  by  an  occurrence  just  before  the 
tale  was  written.  This  fact  is  attested  in  two 
reviews  of  Brown's  novels,  especially  of  Wieland. 
The  American  Review  and  Literary  Journal. 
which  was  edited  in  part  by  Brown,  said  in  an 
extended  notice  of  Wieland:  "The  principal 
incidents,  however  incredible  and  shocking,  are 
founded  on  well  authenticated  facts,  and  sublime 
and  tragical  in  the  highest  degree."  13  A  tragedy 
similar  in  general  outlines  to  that  narrated  by 
Brown  occurred  in  New  York  the  year  before 
ll'icland  was  published.  As  late  as  1819,  in  a 
survey  of  Brown's  work  in  the  North  American 
Review,1*  the  critic  commended  the  novelist's 
choice  of  American  scenes  and  added:  "Some 
times  the  author  takes  advantage  of  a  recent  event 

"  Henry  A.  Beers,  Initial  Studies  in  American  Letters,  New 
York,  1891,  p.  65. 

u  American  Review  and  Literary  Journal  ( New  York, 
1801),  Vol.  I.  'See  al*o  New  York  Weekly  Magazine,  Vol. 
II,  pp.  20-29,  for  the  actual  facts  of  such  tragedy.^ 

M  North  American  Review,  June,   1819,  VoL  IX,  pp.  58-64. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN      297 

amongst  ourselves,  as  in  Wieland,  which  is  too 
shocking  to  receive  any  aid  from  exaggeration  or 
to  lose  any  interest  from  its  notoriety." 

Within  a  few  months  after  the  first  novel  was 
issued  the  second  appeared,  Ormond,  or  The 
Secret  Witness.  The  villain,  who  gave  his  name  to 
the  title,  was  clearly  modeled  after  William  God 
win's  Falkland  in  Caleb  Williams.  In  truth,  the 
two  novels  are  not  dissimilar  in  plan  and  effect. 
The  theme  of  seduction  was  treated  awkwardly, 
amid  the  peaceful  environment  of  Philadelphia. 
The  character  of  Constantia  Dudley,  however,  is 
fairly  well  drawn;  she  is  superior  to  his  other 
women.  She  was  too  prone  to  "ardent  medita 
tion,"  but  through  her  words  Brown  expressed 
some  sensible  ideas  on  women's  education.15  It 
was  this  character  of  Constantia,  and  the  novel  in 
which  she  was  outlined,  that  especially  "delighted 
and  deeply  affected"  Shelley,  when,  under  the 
spell  of  Godwin's  influence,  he  reveled  in  tales  of 
gruesomeness  amid  surroundings  of  real  life.16 

In  this  second  novel  there  are  some  sentences 
descriptive  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia, 
but  the  third  in  time,  Arthur  Mervyn;  or,  Mem 
oirs  of  the  Year  1793,  owed  its  chief  interest  to  a 

"Ormond,  or  The  Secret  Witness  (New  York,  1798),  pp. 
3i,  32. 

16  Edward  Dowden,  Life  of  Shelley  (London,  1886),  Vol.  I, 
pp.  472,  473- 


298     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

dramatic  portrayal  of  this  fateful  year  in  Phila 
delphia.  It  was  the  most  ambitious  of  all  his 
stories,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  involved 
and  prolix.  In  some  descriptive  passages  the 
realism  is  so  strong  that  it  stirs  the  feelings  of  a 
reader  today,  in  spite  of  his  recognition  that  the 
novel  is  a  good  example  of  sensationalism.  In 
criticism,  discriminating  and  appreciative,  W.  P. 
Trent  has  expressd  the  true  attitude  of  a  reader  to 
this  special  novel  and  the  general  estimate  of 
Brown  in  fiction : 

It  is  impossible  to  surrender  one's  self  to  the  illusion 
that  such  adventures  could  have  happened  in  Brown's 
prim  birthplace;  but  it  is  easy  under  the  influence  of 
his  strong  imagination  to  walk  the  deserted  streets  of 
the  plague-stricken  city  and  to  enter  its  forbidding  houses 
tenanted  by  the  dying  and  the  dead.  If  this  be  true 
today,  it  seems  hardly  fair  to  sneer  at  the  men  and 
women  who  a  century  ago  regarded  Brown  as  a  great 
and  moving  writer.  His  models  were  their  standards,  and 
they  were  right  in  perceiving  that  he  measured  well  up 
to  the  Godwins  and  the  Radcliffes.  They  had  not  progressed 
far  enough  to  demand  a  sense  of  humor,  an  artistic  order 
ing  of  material,  susceptibility  to  the  charms  of  nature,  and 
a  subtle  psychological  analysis.  They  knew  that  their 
emotions  had  been  deeply  stirred,  and  that  in  some  par 
ticulars  at  least  the  life  around  them  had  been  faithfully 
set  down." 

Doubtless  the  fearful  experiences  of  the  fever, 

17  W.  P.  Trent,  A  History  of  American  Literature  (New 
York,  1903),  P-  211. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     299 

which  had  come  upon  Brown  in  New  York,  in 
creased  his  imaginative  pictures  of  the  condi 
tions  in  Philadelphia,  although  history  has  verified 
many  of  his  statements.  His  passages  of  narra 
tion  have  been  compared  fittingly  with  Defoe's 
picture  of  the  London  plague.  A  selection  may  be 
chosen  to  illustrate  the  crude,  yet  haunting, 
portrayal : 

....  In  proportion  as  I  drew  near  the  city,  the 
tokens  of  its  calamitous  condition  became  more  appar 
ent.  Every  farm-house  was  filled  with  supernumerary 
tenants;  fugitives  from  home;  and  haunting  the  skirts  of 
the  road,  eager  to  detain  every  passenger  with  inquiries 

after  news The  market-place  and  each  side  of  this 

magnificent  avenue  were  illuminated,  as  before,  by  lamps; 
but  between  the  verge  of  the  Schuylkill  and  the  heart  of 
the  city,  I  met  not  more  than  a  dozen  figures;  and  these 
were  ghost-like,  wrapped  in  cloaks  from  behind  which  they 
cast  upon  me  glances  of  wonder  and  suspicion;  and,  as  I 
approached,  changed  their  course,  to  avoid  touching  me. 
Their  clothes  were  sprinkled  with  vinegar ;  and  their  nos 
trils  defended  from  contagion  by  some  powerful  perfume.18 

Then  follows  a  description  of  the  entrance  of 
the  dread  friend  of  the  infected  city — the  slow, 
stealthily-moving  hearse : 

The  driver  was  seated  on  it.  I  stood  still,  to  mark  his 
visage,  and  to  observe  the  course  which  he  proposed  to 
take.  Presently,  a  coffin,  borne  by  two  men,  issued  from 
the  house.  The  driver  was  a  negro  but  his  companions 

"  Arthur  Mervyn;  or,  Memoirs  of  the  Year  179 3  (Phila 
delphia,  1799),  chap.  15,  pp.  143-45. 


300     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

were  white.  Their  features  were  marked  by  ferocious  in 
difference  to  danger  or  pity. 

One  of  them,  as  he  assisted  in  thrusting  the  coffin  into 
the  cavity  provided  for  it,  said,  "I'll  be  damned  if  I  think 
the  poor  dog  was  quite  dead.  It  wasn't  the  fever  that 
ailed  him,  but  the  sight  of  the  girl  and  her  mother  on 
the  floor.  I  wonder  how  they  all  got  into  that  room. 
What  carried  them  there?" 

The  other  surlily  muttered,  "Their  legs  to  be  sure." 

"But  what  should  they  hug  together  in  one  room  for?" 

"To  save  us  trouble  to  be  sure." 

"And  I  thank  them  with  all  my  heart;  but  damn  it,  it 
wasn't  right  to  put  him  in  his  coffin  before  the  breath  was 
fairly  gone.  I  thought  the  last  look  he  gave  me,  told  me  to 
stay  a  few  minutes." 

"Pshaw !  He  could  not  live.  The  sooner  dead  the 
better  for  him;  as  well  as  for  us.  Did  you  mark  how  he 
eyed  us,  when  we  carried  away  his  wife  and  daughter? 
I  never  cried  in  my  life,  since  I  was  knee-high,  but  curse 
me  if  I  ever  felt  in  better  tune  for  the  business  than  just 
then.  Hey!"  continued  he,  looking  up  and  observing  me 
standing  a  few  paces  distant,  and  listening  to  their  dis 
course,  "What's  wanted?  Anybody  dead?" 

Such  a  narrative  of  a  tragic  situation,  although 
overdrawn  and  melodramatic,  has  a  power  which 
attracts  and,  also,  repels.  These  low,  callous  grave- 
diggers,  with  their  latent  humanity,  and  the  villain 
Welbeck,  are  depicted  with  a  realism  that  is  pain 
ful.  During  these  years,  chronicled  in  Brown's 
novels,  there  seemed  to  be  an  emotional  ferment 
in  many  parts  of  America.  Curiosity  and  semi- 
fear,  not  unlike  the  signs  of  childhood,  assailed 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     301 

^ 

the  mind  of  the  country.  Contemporaneous  with 
the  new  interest  in  science  among  the  educated 
classes  were  the  feverish  speculations  among  the 
ignorant  about  clairvoyance,  somnambulism,  ven 
triloquism,  and  other  mysteries  on  the  borderland 
between  fancy  and  reality.  Quacks  of  all  kinds 
were  ubiquitous,  and  credulity  reigned.  Such 
evidences  of  mental  whims  and  fears  were  re 
flected  in  embryonic  drama  and  fiction.  They 
characterized  many  of  the  newspaper  columns 
that  were  satirized  by  the  Hartford  Wits  in  The 
Echo. 

As  Brown  introduced  ventriloquism  and  specu 
lations  on  the  elixir  of  life  into  Wieland,  so  he 
chose  somnambulism  for  the  germ-idea  of  his 
fourth  novel,  Edgar  Huntlcy;  or,  Memoirs  of 
a  Sleepwalker.™  There  were  also  scenes  of  ad 
venture  here,  especially  of  Clithero,  sleep-walker 
and  grave-digger,  and  culminating  in  the  en 
counter  of  the  hero  with  a  panther.  This  has 
suggested  Cooper's  famous  scene  in  The  Pioneers. 
In  the  preface  to  this  fourth  novel  Brown  empha 
sized  his  determination  to  depict  American 
scenery  and  foster  native  fiction : 

One  merit  the  writer  may  at  least  claim ; — that  of 
calling  forth  the  passions  and  engaging  the  sympathy  of 
the  reader  by  means  hitherto  unemployed  by  preceding 

™  Edgar  Huntley  ;  or,  Memoirs  of  a  Sleepwalker  (Phila 
delphia,  1799,  1800). 


302     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

authors.  Puerile  superstition  and  exploded  manners, 
Gothic  castles  and  chimeras,  are  the  materials  usually  em 
ployed  for  this  end.  The  incidents  of  Indian  hostility, 
and  the  perils  of  the  Western  wilderness,  are  far  more 
suitable;  and  for  a  native  of  America  to  overlook  these 
would  admit  of  no  apology. 

Brown  and  Cooper  have  been  compared  as 
painters  of  Indian  character,  the  claims  of  Brown 
being  based  upon  certain  scenes  in  Edgar  Huntley. 
Brown  overlooked  the  nobler  qualities  poetized 
by  Philip  Freneau.  He  portrayed  the  Indian  as 
cruel  and  malign,  and  used  him  as  a  means  of 
increasing  the  elements  of  horror  in  his  story. 
Cooper,  on  the  other  hand,  idealized  the  Indian 
type,  emphasizing  the  more  romantic  traits. 
These  three  early  authors,  Freneau,  Brown,  and 
Cooper,  portrayed  diverse  qualities  of  the  Indian 
and,  in  their  totality,  revealed  the  red  man  as 
known  to  the  pioneer  settlers,  when  the  Indian 
still  lived  on  the  borders  of  civilization,  and  his 
haunts  and  habits  were  familiar. 

The  wildly  incredible  adventures  of  his  hero, 
Edgar  Huntley,  in  the  mountain  districts  of 
eastern  Pennsylvania  aroused  criticism  as  well  as 
interest  among  readers.  Brown  realized  the 
justice  of  the  former,  and  wrote  to  his  brother 
James : 

Your  remarks  upon  the  gloominess  and  out-of-nature 
incidents  of  "Huntley,"  if  they  be  not  just  in  their  full 
extent,  are  doubtless  such  as  some  readers  will  make, 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     303 

which  alone  is  sufficient  reason  for  dropping  the  doleful 
tone  and  assuming  a  cheerful  one,  or  at  le^st,  substituting 
moral  causes  and  daily  incidents  in  place  of  the  prodigious 
and  the  singular.  I  shall  hereafter  fall  into  that  strain. 

To  carry  out  this  intention,  he  abandoned  weird 
and  adventuresome  incidents,  and  adopted  a  form 
of  tame  sentimentality  in  his  last  two  novels,  Clara 
Howard  and  Jane  Talbot.20  The  same  plot,  based 
upon  a  lost  child  and  mistaken  identity,  and  some 
of  the  same  characters  were  introduced  into  both 
Edgar  Huntley  and  Clara  Howard.  The  heroine, 
of  the  latter,  Mary  Wilmot,  supporting  herself 
and  her  brother  by  her  needle,  was  a  familiar 
type  of  womanhood  in  that  day.  The  letters  of 
Jane  Talbot  and  Henry  Golden  make  a  weak  love- 
story. 

In  Edgar  Huntley  are  two  sentences  worth 
quoting,  for  they  seem  to  express  the  author's 
own  defects  in  mental  poise  and  emotional  re 
straint  : 

My  judgment  was  for  the  time,  sunk  into  imbecility 
and  confusion!  ....  Thus  I  have  told  thee  a  bloody  and 
disastrous  tale :  when  thou  reflectest  on  the  mildness  of  my 
habits,  my  antipathy  to  scenes  of  violence  and  blood 
shed,  my  unacquaintance  with  the  use  of  fire-arms,  and 
the  motives  of  a  soldier,  thou  wilt  scarcely  allow  credit 
to  my  story.21 

20  Clara  Howard;  or,  The  Enthusiasm  of  Love   (Philadel 
phia,   1801)  ;  Jane  Talbot   (Philadelphia,   New   York,   London, 
1801). 

21  Edgar  Huntley,  Vol.  I,  p.  210;  Vol.  II,  p.  207. 


304     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Upon  these  six  novels  rests  the  reputation  of 
Charles  Brockden  Brown  as  a  novelist.  He  failed 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  fiction  of  a  high 
order;  he  created  only  a  few  strong  characters; 
he  was  discursive  and  stilted  in  diction.  As 
an  example  of  the  last  fault,  we  recall  the  sen 
tence  on  the  heroine  of  Orrnond:  "Constantia 
enjoyed,  in  their  full  extent,  the  felicities  of 
health  and  sel f -approbation. "  22  In  extenuation, 
we  must  remember  that  these  novels  were  written 
when  Brown  was  a  young  man — for  he  was  only 
thirty  when  the  last  appeared;  that  he  wrote  with 
fatal  rapidity ;  and  that  he  lacked  the  wisdom  of 
rejection  and  the  aid  of  critical  advice.  In  his 
mature  life  he  repented,  too  mournfully,  of  these 
early  novels,  and  repressed  the  fancies  with  which 
his  imagination  was  stored.  <"_  Without  question, 
his  mind  and  imagination  could  produce  effective 
scenes.  •  The  author's  temperament,  especially 
shown  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood,  and  his 
proneness  to  attacks  of  melancholy  and  gruesome 
fancies,  explain  largely  the  characteristics  of  his 
fiction.  To  these  individual  traits  must  be  added 
the  fashion  of  the  day  in  literature,  and  his  at- 

M  Ormond,  or  The  Secret  Witness,  p.  32.  Mary  Shelley 
commented  on  Jane  Talbot  as  a  "very  stupid  book,"  etc  ;  see 
Edward  Dowden's  Life  of  Shelley  (London,  1886),  Vol.  I,  pp. 
472,  473- 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     305 

tempts  to  follow  the  English  imaginative  writers 
who  were  favorites  of  the  hour. 

Brown  entered  the  field  of  fiction  with  diffi 
dence  and  fear  of  censure  from  Americans  whom 
he  esteemed ;  for  this  form  of  literature  was  then 
often  condemned  as  immoral,  or  too  frivolous  to 
be  read.  In  the  Jefferson  Papers,  at  the  Library 
of  Congress,  there  is  an  interesting  letter  from 
Brown  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  asking  his  accept 
ance  of  Wieland,  and  explaining,  with  tiresome 
verbosity,  the  reasons  why  he  ventured  to  write 
a  novel,  and  to  present  it  to  the  statesman,  whom 
he  much  admired.  By  permission,  I  quote 
extracts  here  from  the  letter : 

After  some  hesitation,  a  stranger  to  the  person,  though 
not  to  the  character  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  ventures  to  in- 
treat  his  acceptance  of  the  volume  by  which  this  is  accom 
panied I  am  conscious,  however,  that  this  form 

of  composition  may  be  regarded  by  you  with  indifference 
and  contempt,  that  social  &  intellectual  theories,  that  the 
history  of  facts  in  the  processes  of  nature  &  the  opera 
tions  of  government  may  appear  to  you  the  only  laudable 
pursuits :  that  fictitious  narratives,  in  their  own  nature, 
or  in  the  manner  in  which  they  have  been  hitherto 
conducted,  may  be  thought  not  to  deserve  notice,  &  that, 
consequently,  whatever  may  be  the  merit  of  my  book  as  a 
fiction  yet  it  is  to  be  condemn'd  because  it  is  a  fiction. 

I  need  not  say  that  my  own  opinions  are  different.  I 
am  therefore  obliged  to  hope  that  an  artful  display  of 
incidents,  the  powerful  delineation  of  characters  &  the 
train  of  eloquent  &  judicious  reasoning  which  may  be 


306     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

combined  in  a  fictitious  work  will  be  regarded  by  Thomas 
Jefferson  with  as  much  respect  as  they  are  regarded  by 
me 

No  man  holds  a  performance  which  he  has  deliberately 
offered  to  the  world  in  contempt :  but,  if  he  be  a  man  of 
candour  &  discernment,  his  favourable  judgment  of  his 
own  work  will  always  be  diffidence  and  fluctuation.  I 
confess  I  foster  the  hope  that  Mr.  Jefferson  will  be  in 
duced  to  open  the  book  that  is  here  offered  him :  that 
when  he  has  begun  it,  he  will  find  himself  prompted  to 
continue  &  that  he  will  not  think  the  time  employ'd  upon  it 
tediously  or  uselessly  consumed. 

With  more  than  this  I  dare  not  flatter  myself.  That  he 
will  be  pleased  in  any  uncommon  degree  &  that,  by  his 
recommendation,  he  will  contribute  to  diffuse  the  knowl 
edge  of  its  author,  &  faciliate  a  favorable  reception  to 
future  performances,  is  a  benefit  far  beyond  the  expecta 
tions,  though  certainly,  the  object  of  the  fondest  wishes  of 

Charles  B.  Brown." 

One  who  reads  this  letter  by  Brown  is  natur 
ally  curious  to  know  what  reception  the  letter  and 
book  won  from  Jefferson.  His  answer  was  brief, 
noncommittal  in  a  way,  yet  promising  some 
degree  of  appreciation.  The  answer,  however, 
was  delayed  until  Jefferson's  return  to  Philadel 
phia,  and  was  dated  January  15,  1800 — more  than 
a  year  after  Brown's  letter. 

I  receiv'd  on  my  arrival  here  some  days  ago  the  copy 
of  the  book  you  were  so  kind  as  to  send  me  together  with 
your  letter,  for  which  be  pleased  to  accept  my  thanks. 

"  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  II,  Vol.  V,  No.  46.  The  letter  is 
dated  December  25,  1798  (45  Pine  Street,  New  York). 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     307 

As  soon  as  I  am  in  a  situation  to  admit  it  (which  is 
hardly  the  case  here)  I  shall  read  it,  &  I  doubt  not  with 
great  pleasure,  some  of  the  most  agreeable  moments  of 
my  life  have  been  spent  in  reading  works  of  imagination, 
which  have  this  advantage  over  history  that  the  incidents 
of  the  former  may  be  dressed  in  the  most  interesting 
form,  while  those  of  the  latter  must  be  confined  to  fact: 
they  cannot  therefore  present  virtue  in  the  best  &  vice  in 
the  worst  forms  possible,  as  the  former  may.  , 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  great  consideration,  Sir, 
Your  most   obed'   serv't, 

Th.  Jefferson.24 

Although  classified  as  America's  first  novelist, 
Brown  by  his  personality  exerted  as  great  influ 
ence  upon  early  literature  as  by  this  concrete 
form  of  writing.  For  the  youth  of  his  own  day 
and  the  next  generation  he  left  a  potent  example 
by  renouncing  opportunities  in  law  and  business, 
and  devoting  himself  to  letters  as  a  profession,  in 
spite  of  censure  and  sacrifices.  Prescott  lays 
special  stress  upon  Brown's  influence  in  this  way 
upon  the  young  men  of  the  next  generation,  who 
were  inspired  to  test  their  gifts.25  After  he  had 
finished  his  brief  career  as  novelist,  he  devoted 
the  rest  of  his  life  to  editing  journals,  designed 
especially  to  create  a  taste  for  good  reading 
among  the  common  people. 

24 Jefferson  Papers,  Series  I,  Vol.  VII,  No.  305  (Library 
of  Congress). 

25  A  Library  of  American  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p.  180:  Pres 
cott  on  Brown. 


3o8     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Beginning  in  the  year  of  his  greatest  success 
as  novelist,  1799,  he  ventured  as  editor  of  The 
Monthly  Magazine  and  American  Review,  pub 
lished  in  New  York.  This  survived  only  a  year. 
The  previous  year  he  had  contributed  papers  to 
The  Weekly  Magazine  of  Original  Essays,  Fugi 
tive  Pieces  and  Interesting  Intelligence,  of  Phila 
delphia.26  He  may  have  assisted  in  editing  this 
journal.  The  most  fruitful  years  of  his  work 
as  editor  were  from  1803  to  1808,  when  he  edited 
The  Literary  Magazine  and  American  Register.21 
In  his  opening  "Address  to  the  Public,"  dated 
September  i,  1803,  he  made  a  persuasive  plea  for 
support,  urging  that 

there  is  not,  at  present,  any  other  monthly  publication  in 
America,  and  that  a  plan  of  this  kind,  if  well  conducted, 
cannot  fail  of  being  highly  conducive  to  amusement  and 
instruction.  There  are  many,  therefore,  it  is  hoped,  who, 
when  such  a  herald  as  this  knocks  at  their  door,  will  open 
it  without  reluctance,  and  admit  a  visitant  who  calls  only 
once  a  month;  who  talks  upon  every  topic;  whose 
company  may  be  dismissed  or  resumed,  and  who  may  be 
made  to  prate  or  to  hold  his  tongue  at  pleasure;  a  com 
panion  he  will  be,  possessing  one  companionable  property, 
in  the  highest  degree,  that  is  to  say,  a  desire  to  please. 

True  to  his  promise,  the  editor  seemed  to  "talk 
upon  every  topic,"  but,  amid  much  that  was 

M  See  earlier  pages  of  this  chapter  for  his  contributions. 

r  This  journal  was  issued  from  the  press  of  Conrad,  of 
Philadelphia.  The  publishing  house  had  branches  for  distri 
bution  in  Norfolk  and  Baltimore. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN      309 

trivial,  there  were  some  scholarly  papers  on 
affairs  and  letters,  showing  the  editor's  informa 
tion  along  both  lines.  Brown  was  deeply  inter 
ested  in  American  politics,  and  wrote  clearly  and 
forcefully  upon  such  themes,  in  a  manner  quite 
unlike  his._..florid  style  in  fiction  and  letters. 
Throughout  his  life  he  was  a  firm  Federalist,  yet 
a  great  admirer  of  Jefferson  and  Hamilton.  In 
later  years  he  criticized  the  former  for  his  Demo 
cratic  policies.  An  excellent  linguist,  he  was  able 
to  speak  and  read  French  and  Spanish  with  ease. 
Two  of  his  essays,  with  translated  passages, 
attracted  attention  and  have  been  preserved.  The 
first  was  An  Address  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  on  the  Cession  of  Louisiana  to  the 
French  and  on  the  Late  Breach  of  Treaty  by  the 
Spaniards,  including  the  Translation  of  a  Memo 
rial  on  the  War  of  St.  Domingo,  and  Cession  of 
Mississippi  to  France.  This  passed  into  a  second 
and  revised  edition.  The  next  year  (1804)  ne 
published  a  translation  of  A  View  of  the  Soil  and 
Climate  of  the  United  States  of  America,  with 
Supplementary  Remarks  upon  Florida,  maps 
etc.,  by  C.  F.  Volney?* 

As  such  studies  in  broader  fields  increased 
his  culture,  they  caused  him  to  regret  his  earlier, 
more  puerile  attempts  at  fiction.  In  the  prospec- 

28  Both  these  pamphlets  were  published  in  Philadelphia, 
1803,  and  1804. 


310     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

tus  of  his  Literary  Mayazine  he  expressed  the 
true  humilty  of  a  man  who  was  acquiring  scholar 
ship  and  looked  back  upon  his  work  with  keen 
disapproval : 

I  am  far  from  wishing  that  my  readers  should  judge 
;  of  my  exertions  by  my  former  ones.  I  have  written  much, 
but  take  much  blame  to  myself  for  something  which  I 
have  written  and  take  no  praise  for  anything.  I  should 
enjoy  a  larger  share  of  my  own  respect,  at  the  present 
moment,  if  nothing  had  ever  flowed  from  my  pen,  the  pro 
duction  of  which  could  be  traced  to  me.  A  variety  of 
causes  induce  me  to  form  such  a  wish,  but  I  am  particu 
larly  influenced  by  the  consideration  that  time  can  scarcely 
fail  of  enlarging  and  refining  the  powers  of  a  man; 
while  the  world  is  sure  to  judge  of  his  capabilities  and 
principles  at  fifty  by  what  he  has  written  at  fifteen. 

Brown's  magazine  acquired  a  fair  circulation 
in  New  York,  as  well  as  in  Philadelphia.  Joseph 
Dennie  welcomed  Brown  into  the  ranks  of  journa 
lists  by  a  kind  reference,  in  The  Portfolio,  Feb 
ruary  11,  1804,  to  the  editor  as  "a  gentleman 
whose  talents  are  acknowledged  to  be  of  a 
superior  order.  As  author  of  the  novel,  'Wie- 
land,'  he  acquired  considerable  celebrity."  Brown 
had  not  signed  his  name  either  to  his  "Address  to 
the  Public"  or  to  his  articles,  but  his  work  was 
quickly  recognized.  Of  this  reticence  he  said  in 
the  "Address" : 

I  shall  take  no  pains  to  conceal  my  name.  Any  body 
may  know  it  who  chooses  to  ask  my  publisher.  I  shall  not, 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     311 

however,  put  it  at  the  bottom  of  this  address.  My  diffi 
dence,  as  my  friends  would  call  it,  and  my  discretion,  as 
my  enemies  (if  I  have  any)  would  term  it,  hinder  me 
from  calling  out  my  name  in  a  crowd. 

He  wrote  some  historical  and  literary  essays,  and 
secured  contributions  on  natural  history,  travels, 
etc.  A  department  of  "Remarkable  Occurrences" 
was  one  feature  of  the  journal,  and  a  column  of 
"Anecdotes"  sought  to  lighten  the  mass  of  serious 
writing.  Unfortunately,  Brown  lacked  the  sense  / 
of  humor.  Such  a  faculty  would  have  aided  him 
in  giving  a  more  entertaining  touch  to  his  journal. 
In  earlier  years  it  might  have  saved  him  from 
some  of  his  more  extravagant  passages  of  melo 
drama.  This  lack  of  buoyancy  was  due,  in  a 
measure,  to  his  physical  nature.  He  confessed 
that  he  had  never  known  "that  lightness  and 
vivacity  of  mind  which  the  divine  flow  of  health, 
even  in  calamity,  produces  in  some  men."  29 

Outwardly  his  life  brightened  as  the  years 
passed.  In  1804  he  married  Elizabeth  Linn,  of 
New  York,  daughter  of  a  well-known  clergyman 
and  sister  of  another,  Rev.  John  Blair  Linn,  of 
Philadelphia.  The  latter  was  a  man  of  literary 
tastes,  who  had  written  two  books  of  passing 
fame.30  The  year  after  his  marriage,  Brown 

28  W.  H.  Prescott's  Sketch  of  Broivn,  Jared  Sparks,  A 
Library  of  American  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p.  169. 

30  The  Powers  of  Genius :  A  Poem  by  John  Blair  Linn, 
AM.,  Co-Pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City  of 


312     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

wrote  to  Dtinlap  of  his  home  happiness,  but  also 
of  his  haunting  fear  that  it  might  not  last.81  The 
birth  of  twin  sons  seemed  to  rouse  him,  for  a 
time,  from  his  morbid  fancies.  He  found  a  new 
incentive  in  living,  and  edited  and  wrote  with 
zeal  and  encouragement.  Proof  of  this  more 
normal  state  of  mind  is  given  in  a  manuscript 
letter,  in  the  possession  of  the  Historical  Society 
of  Pennsylvania,  which  is  printed  by  permission. 
The  letter  was  written  to  his  wife  from  Albany, 
June  17,  1806,  where  he  had  gone  to  visit  his 
sisters.  He  begins  the  letter  with  an  account  of 
the  journey  by  boat : 

I  left  New  York  last  Thursday  morning  &  on  Mon 
day  about  twelve  got  within  twelve  miles  of  this  place. 
There  being  no  expectation  of  reaching  town  before  night, 
I  gladly  got  on  shore  &  walked  the  rest  of  the  way.  I 
had  scarcely  begun  my  walk  when  the  eclipse  began.  I 
sat  down  on  the  side  of  a  hill  from  whence  there  was  a 
wide  prospect  of  this  great  river  and  its  lofty  shores  & 
enjoyed  the  grandest  and  most  awful  spectacle  which  I 
ever  witnessed I  have  had  a  great  deal  of  con 
versation  with  our  sisters,  in  which,  however,  as  yet  all 
the  talk  was  on  my  side.  They  seem'd  to  partake  of  all 
your  pride  and  fondness  for  our  little  ones 

Philadelphia  (Philadelphia,  1801  ;  Bourville  Castle,  Phila 
delphia,  1802  (?)). 

""My  companion  is  all  that  an  husband  can  wish  for, 
and,  in  short,  as  to  my  own  personal  situation,  I  have  nothing 
to  wish  for  but  that  it  may  last  (Life  of  Brown,  Vol.  II, 
P.  i'3). 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     313 

My  fond  anticipations  of  a  letter  from  you  were  not 
disappointed.  I  found  one  here  on  my  arrival,  which  as 
sures  me  of  your  welfare.  You  confirm  my  prognostics 
that  the  lovely  babes  will  scamper  about  house,  by  the 
time  of  my  return.  I  am  grieved  that  you  still  enjoy  so 
little  assistance  &  I  am  very  glad  you  have  Susan  D.  I 
have  no  doubt  we  shall  soon  have  Massy  back  again  & 
her  excellence  will  only  show  the  brighter  by  comparison 
with  the  defects  of  others.  I  will  write  every  day.  Love 
to  thy  dear  self. 

In  a  postscript  his  wife  is  told  to  "send  the 
Reflector  to  the  printer,"  with  specific  directions 
as  to  his  office.  Like  all  of  Brown's  handwriting, 
this  letter  shows  wonderful  delicacy  and  evenness 
both  in  the  formation  of  the  letters  and  also  in 
the  spacing. 

The  evidence  of  fatal  disease  of  the  lungs,  in 
1808,  brought  on  a  return  of  brooding.  After  a 
journey  through  New  York  and  western  New 
England  he  seemed  to  have  temporary  relief,  and 
undertook  more  writing  with  a  zeal  which  was 
almost  desperate.  Two  years  before,  he  had 
arranged  with  his  publisher,  Conrad,  to  bring  out 
a  semiannual  compendium  of  reprinted  articles 
on  politics,  science,  art,  and  literature.  This  was 
known  as  The  American  Register  or  General  Re 
pository  of  History,  Politics,  and  Science.  It 
lived  through  seven  volumes,  from  1806  to  1810. 
It  may  be  found  at  many  libraries,  and  evidently 
had  a  wide  circulation  for  that  period,  and  an 


314     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

influence  in  promoting  intelligence  on  world- 
affairs  in  an  age  that  was  provincial. 

The  increase  of  his  family  by  two  more  chil 
dren  gave  Brown  added  joy,  but  also  anxiety,  for 
he  realized  that  his  own  years  of  life  were  few, 
and  that  he  could  leave  no  adequate  income  for 
his  family.  He  disliked  the  phrases  allied  with 
death,  and  always  spoke  of  the  future  for  his 
wife  in  euphemisms,  such  as :  "You  must  do  this 
when  I  am  asleep,"  or,  "Remember  this  when  I 
am  absent."  32  As  his  physical  power  grew  less, 
his  mind  seemed  more  alert  and  productive.  He 
wrote  until  the  last  day  of  life. 

Among  the  many  literary  remains  were  French 
classics  in  translation,  maps  and  data  for  a  work 
on  geography,  architectural  drawings,  and  the 
romantic  History  of  Car  sol,  Sketches  of  a  His 
tory  of  the  Carrils  and  Ormes  included  with 
Jessica  and  Memoirs  of  Stephen  Calvert,  in  the 
memoir  by  Dunlap.88  A  manuscript  poem, 
"L'Amoroso,"  which  was  given  by  his  son,  Wil 
liam  Linn  Brown,  to  Frank  M.  Etting,  Esq.,  is 
in  the  Chamberlain  collection  at  the  Boston 
Public  Library.  It  illustrates  the  prevailing 
sentimentality  of  his  writing.  A  portion  is  here 
quoted : 

**  Dunlap,   Life  of  Brown,  Vol.   II,   p.    188. 
**  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  pp.   170-262. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     315 

From    pleasure's    walks    and    market-places ; 

Stilly  Groves  and  lonely  Hills ; 
From  gay  carousals,  thronging  faces, 

Moonlight  Glades  and  warbling  rills; 
From  fighting  fields  and  stormy   Seas; 

From  courtly  pomp  and  war's  array; 
From  State  turmoils  and  letter'd  Ease; 

Come,  my  enamoured  Soul !  away ! 
From  haunts  that  moonstruck  Fancy  wooes ; 

Where  Nymphs  resort,  and  Muses  roam, 
From  all  that  vulgar  dreams  abuse, 

Come  home,  Exstatic  Thought,  come  home ! 

The  death  of  Brown,  in  February,  1810, 
attracted  very  little  attention  in  the  newspapers  of 
Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Brief  notices 
only  may  be  found  in  the  journals  of  the  day. 
Even  his  burial-place  was  not  located  with  abso 
lute  certainty  until  a  short  time  ago,  when  a  ques 
tion  elicited  the  following  statement  from  Mr. 
George  Vaux: 

The  interment  was  in  Friends'  Burial  Ground,  Arch  & 
Fourth  Streets,  Philadelphia,  2nd  mo.  22,  1810;  age  thirty- 
nine  years;  disease,  decay;  Locality,  row  18,  Grave  16; 
District,  Southern.  The  locality  has  no  significance — all 
the  early  grave  mounds  in  this  ground  were  levelled  about 
seventy  years  ago  and  no  interments  earlier  than  1848  can 
be  identified.3* 

Two  attempts  to  revive  an  interest  in  Brown's 

M  See  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
Vol.  XXX,  No.  118  (1906),  p.  242.  This  fact  was  found  in  an 
original  record  in  Friends'  Library. 


316     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

personality  and  novels  met  with  only  limited  suc 
cess.  A  complete  edition  of  his  fiction  was  issued 
in  Boston  in  1827,  and  an  edition,  edited  by  Mr. 
David  McKay,  was  published  in  Philadelphia  in 
1887.  During  the  last  five  years  more  research 
has  been  made  for  facts  about  his  life  and  influ 
ence,  in  accord  with  the  general  awakening  to  the 
historical  value  of  such  literary  data.38  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  English  readers  and  review 
ers  showed  more  interest  in  Brown,  for  a  century 
and  a  half  after  his  death,  than  Americans  have 
ever  proclaimed.  Three  volumes  of  his  fiction, 
including  some  tales  already  printed  and  other 
posthumous  writing,  were  published  in  London 
in  1822,  under  the  title  Carwin,  the  Biloquist  and 
Other  American  Tales  and  Pieces  By  Charles 
Brockden  Brown,  Author  of  Wieland,  Ormond, 
Arthur  Mervyn,  <Sr.30 

Because  of  this  dearth  of  interest  among 
Americans  in  the  past,  there  is  a  special  signifi 
cance  in  a  highly-colored  article  in  Blackwood's 
Edinburgh  Review  for  October,  1824,  signed 
<fX.  Y.  Z.,"  treating  the  life  and  writings  of 
Brown.  The  tone  is  one  of  reproach  to  America 
for  her  indifference,  until  England  had  brought 

*  A  monograph  with  detailed  study  of  Brown's  novels  has 
been  written  by  Martin  S.  Vilas  (1904)  ;  see  the  Bibliography. 
"  These   volumes    may    be    found    in    the    Library    of    Con 
gress. 


CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN     317 

Brown  to  public  notice.  Of  the  personality  of  the 
novelist  the  reviewer  wrote : 

He  lived  in  Eleventh  street  (we  mention  this  for  the 
information  of  his  townsmen — not  one  in  a  thousand  of 
whom  knew  it;  of  his  countrymen  not  one  in  a  million  of 
whom,  out  of  ATHENS,  ever  would  know  it,  but  for  us) 
between  Walnut  and  Chestnut — on  the  eastern  side — in  a 
low,  dirty,  two-story  brick  house;  standing  a  little  in  from 
the  street,  with  never  a  tree  nor  a  shrub  near  it — lately  in 
the  occupation  of — or  as  a  Yankee  would  say  improved 
by  an  actor-man,  whose  name  was  Darling.37 

He  was  a  tall  man — with  a  powerful  frame — and  little 
or  no  flesh.  It  was  impossible  to  pass  him  in  the  street, 
without  stopping  to  look  at  him.  His  pale,  sallow,  strange 
complexion,  straight  black  hair — "black  as  death," — the  mel 
ancholy,  broken-hearted  look  of  his  eyes,  his  altogether 
extraordinary  face, — if  seen  once,  has  never  been  for 
gotten.  He  would  be  met,  week  after  week, — month  after 
month, — walking  to  and  fro  in  his  native  town,  for  hours 
and  hours  together  on  some  unfrequented  street — generally 
at  a  very  early  hour  in  the  morning,  lost  in  thought  and 
looking  like  a  shipwrecked  man.  Nobody  knew  him, 
nobody  cared  for  him  (till  we  took  up  his  cause)  he  was 
only  an  author — yet,  when  we  have  described  him,  every 
body  in  Philadelphia  will  recollect  him. 

Much  of  this  description  sounds  like  the  fig 
ment  of  a  modern  journalist's  imagination;  yet 
many  of  the  facts,  are  correct,  and  some  of  the 
surmises  cannot  easily  be  disproved. 

37  This  account  tallies  with  the  description  of  Brown  by 
Sully,  the  artist;  see  Scharf  and  Westcott,  History  of  Phila 
delphia,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1981. 


318     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  novels  of  Brown  are  of  historical  interest 
in  tracing  the  development  of  American  fiction 
which  followed  within  a  few  years — the  work  of 
Irving,  Cooper,  Poe,  and  Hawthorne.  Before  the 
death  of  Brown,  the  Salmagundi  Papers  and 
Knickerbocker  History  of  New  York  had  been 
published.  Minor  ventures  in  fiction  had  been 
made  by  Irving,  Paulding,  and  their  comrades. 
Irving  met  Brown,  and  was  impressed  by  his 
patience  and  aspiration.  He  acknowledged  his 
indebtedness  to  this  early  fictionist  for  an  example 
of  courage  and  literary  purpose.  The  masters  of 
fiction  who  followed  Brown  were  able  to  use 
material  similar  to  his,  in  fancy  and  character- 
delineation;  but  they  gave  to  their  fiction  both 
reality  and  effectiveness.  It  was  the  lack  of  such 
artistic  execution  that  reduced  Brown's  romances 
to  extravaganzas.  He  had  a  fertile  fancy  but 
lacked  constructive  faculty.  His  power  of  imagi 
nation  was  often  virile,  but  it  was  never  fully 
developed  and  trained.  He  produced  only  the 
germs  of  national  fiction,  from  which  there 
evolved,  within  a  few  years,  such  effective  tales 
as  Rip  Van  Winkle,  The  Gold  Bug,  and  The 
Hall  of  Fantasy.  In  both  fiction  and  essays  on 
political  and  literary  themes,  Brown  evidenced 
some  originality  of  thought  and  an  impulse  of 
patriotism  which  helped  to  promulgate  a  love  of 
literature  among  his  countrymen. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


I.     GENERAL  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE  AND 
INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

The  author,  in  preparing  this  Bibliography,  has  included 
only  the  books,  periodicals,  letters,  manuscripts,  etc.,  which 
she  has  consulted  by  personal  research  or  by  correspondence  ; 
the  list  is  far  from  exhaustive,  but  may  prove  helpful  for 
further  studies  upon  these  subjects. 

American  Poems,  Selected  and  Original.  Anon.  Litch- 
field  (Connecticut).  Preface  is  dated  1793.  This  was 
edited  by  Dr.  Elihu  Smith.  8vo. 

American  Museum,  The;  or  Repository  of  Ancient  and 
Modern  Fugitive  Pieces.  Philadelphia:  Carey,  1787- 
92. 

Columbian  Muse,  The:  A  Selection  of  American  Poetry 
from  Various  Authors  of  Established  Reputation. 
Philadelphia,  1794.  I2mo. 

Columbian  Songster,  The,  and  Jovial  Companion.  New 
York,  1797.  8vo. 

Cyclopaedia  of  American  Literature.  By  Evert  A.  Duyc- 
kinck,  New  York,  1866. 

The  National  Portrait  Gallery  of  Distinguished  Ameri 
cans.  Compiled  by  James  B.  Longacre  (Philadel 
phia),  and  James  Herring  (New  York),  1835. 

Specimens  of  American  Poetry.  By  Samuel  Kettell. 
Boston,  1829.  I2mo.  3  vols. 

A  Library  of  American  Literature.  By  E.  C.  Stedman 
and  E.  M.  Hutchinson.  New  York,  1900.  8vo.  (Vol. 

I.) 

Illustrated   Ballad   History   of   the   American   Revolution. 
By  Frank  Moore.     New  York,   1870.     4to. 
321 


322     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  Revolution.  By  Frank  Moore. 
New  York,  1856.  i2mo. 

American  Lands  and  Letters.  By  Donald  G.  Mitchell. 
New  York,  1899.  (Vol.  I,  chaps.  3  and  4.) 

A  History  of  American  Literature.  By  W.  P.  Trent. 
New  York,  1903.  8vo.  (Pp.  22-66.) 

The  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  1763- 
1783.  By  Moses  Coit  Tyler.  2  vols.  New  York,  1897. 
8vo. 

American  Literature  (1607-1885).  By  Charles  F.  Rich 
ardson.  New  York,  1898.  2  vols.  in  I.  (Vol.  I,  chaps. 

I-7-) 
Proposals  Relating  to  the  Education  of  Youth  in  Pensil- 

vania.      By    Benjamin    Franklin.      Philadelphia,    1749. 

32  pp.     (In  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  Boston  Public  Library.) 
A   List   of   Books   Written  by,  or   Relating   to    Benjamin 

Franklin.      Edited   by    Paul    Leicester    Ford.      Brook 
lyn,   1889.     8vo. 
The  Complete  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin.     Edited  and 

compiled    by    John    Bigelow.      10    vols.      New    York, 

1888.     Federal  Edition,  1906-7. 
The  Writings  of   Benjamin  Franklin.     Edited  by   Albert 

Henry  Smyth.    9  vols.     New  York,  1905-6. 
Benjamin  Franklin.     By  John  Bach  MacMaster.     Boston, 

1887.     (Chaps.  8,  9.) 
Letters  from  a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania  to  the  Inhabitants 

of  the  British  Colonies.     Philadelphia,    1768;   printed 

same  year  in  Boston  and  London.    8vo. 
The  Boston  Gazette  and  The  Country  Journal,  July   18, 

1768:      "A    Song    Now    Much    in    Vogue    in    North 

America."     (By  John  Dickinson.) 
Essays  on  the   Constitution  of   the  United   States,   1787- 

1788.      Edited    by    Paul    Leicester    Ford.      Brooklyn, 

1892. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  323 

Pamphlets  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Pub 
lished  during  Its  Discussion  by  the  People,  1787- 
1788.  Edited,  with  Notes  and  a  Bibliography,  by 
Paul  Leicester  Ford.  Brooklyn,  1888. 

The  American  Nation :  A  History.  Edited  by  Albert 
Bushnell  Hart.  New  York,  1906-7.  (Vols.  IX,  X.) 

A  History  of  the  American  People.  By  Woodrow  Wilson. 
New  York,  1902.  (Vol.  III.) 

A  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  from  the 
Revolution  to  the  Civil  War.  By  John  Bach  Mac- 
Master.  New  York,  1883.  (Vol.  I,  chaps.  1-4.) 

History  of  the  Republic,  as  Traced  in  the  Writings  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  and  His  Contemporaries.  Edited 
by  John  C.  Hamilton.  New  York,  1859. 

Writings  of  George  Washington.  Edited  by  Worthing- 
ton  C  Ford.  New  York,  1899.  14  vols. 


II.     FRANCIS   HOPKINSON 

WRITINGS    BY    HOPKINSON 

An  Exercise  containing  a  Dialogue  and  Ode  Sacred  to 
the  Memory  of  his  Late  Majesty  Geo.  II.  Performed 
at  the  College  of  Philadelphia,  May  23,  1761.  The 
Ode  written  and  set  to  Music  by  Francis  Hopkinson, 
Esq.  M.A.  of  said  College.  Philadelphia,  1761.  8 
pp.,  sq.  8vo. 

Science.  A  Poem  by  Francis  Hopkinson.  Dedicated  to 
the  Trustees  and  Profs,  of  College  &  Academy.  Phila 
delphia,  1762.  4to. 

Two  early  poems  in  manuscript:  L' Allegro,  dedicated  to 
Benjamin  Chew,  and  II  Penseroso,  dedicated  to  Rev. 
Dr.  Smith.  Also:  An  Elegy  sacred  to  the  Memory 
of  Mrs.  Ann  Graeme,  July,  1765.  (These  manuscripts 
are  in  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Penn 
sylvania.) 


324     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Four  Dissertations,  on  the  Reciprocal  Advantages  of  a 
Perpetual  Union  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
American  Colonies.  Written  for  Mr.  Sargent's  Prize- 
Medal.  To  Which  (by  Desire)  is  prefixed  an  Eulo- 
gium,  spoken  on  Delivery  of  the  Medal.  Philadelphia, 
1766;  London,  1766.  (Hopkinson  wrote  one  of  these 
dissertations.) 

A  Pretty  Story  Written  in  the  Year  of  Our  Lord  1774  by 
Peter  Grievous,  Esq.  A.B.C.D.E.  Veluti  in  Speculo. 
Philadelphia,  1774. 

Reprint  as  The  Old  Farm  and  the  New  Farm :  A  Political 
Allegory,  with  Introduction  and  Historic  Notes  by 
Benson  J.  Lossing.  New  York,  1857;  2d  ed.,  1864. 

A  Prophecy.     Philadelphia,   1776. 

The  Pennsylvania  Magazine  or  American  Monthly  Mu 
seum.  (R.  Aitkin.)  Philadelphia,  1775.  (This  con 
tains  many  of  Hopkinson's  early  writings.) 

Prose  Account  of  the  Battle  of  the  Kegs  (unsigned).  In 
New  Jersey  Gazette,  January  21,  1778. 

The  Pennsylvania  Packet,  March  4,  1778  ("The  Battle  of 
the  Kegs").  December  29,  1787,  ("The  New  Roof"). 

Battle  of  the  Kegs.  A  ballad  broadside.  (No  date  or 
place.)  In  American  Antiquarian  Society  Library. 

Battle  of  the  Kegs.  Philadelphia:  Oakwood  Press,  1866. 
8vo. 

Seven  Songs  for  the  Harpsichord  or  Forte  Piano.  The 
Words  and  Music  Composed  by  Francis  Hopkinson. 
Philadelphia,  1788.  8vo. 

An  Oration  which  Might  have  been  Delivered  to  the  Stu 
dents  in  Anatomy  on  the  Late  Rupture  between  the 
Two  Schools  in  this  City.  Philadelphia,  1789.  19  pp., 
4to. 

The  Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Occasional  Writings  of 
Francis  Hopkinson.  3  vols.  Philadelphia,  1792.  8vo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  325 

Two  manuscript  volumes  of  "Miscellanies,"  owned  by 
Mrs.  Florence  Scovel  Shinn,  a  descendant  of  Hopkin- 
son. 

Five  manuscript  volumes  of  prose  writings  (many  printed 
in  "The  Miscellaneous  Essays,"  etc.),  owned  by  the 
American  Philosophical  Society. 

One  volume  of  collected  writings  (some  in  manuscript, 
some  in  print),  made  by  Hopkinson,  owned  by  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

Manuscript  letters  by  Hopkinson  to  Jefferson  in  Library 
of  Congress,  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  II;  also  letters 
to  Hopkinson,  Series  I. 

Manuscript  letters  by  Francis  Hopkinson  to  Franklin, 
owned  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society;  also 
letters  to  Hopkinson. 

Manuscript  letters  by  Hopkinson  to  several  men  of  his 
day,  and  to  his  family,  owned  by  Mrs.  Oliver  Hopkin 
son  ;  also  letters  to  Hopkinson  by  Washington,  Jeffer 
son,  Robert  Morris,  and  others. 

The  American  Museum ;  or  Repository  of  Ancient  & 
Modern  Fugitive  Pieces,  Prose  &  Poetical.  Philadel 
phia :  Carey.  January,  1787:  "On  Annual  White 
washings."  February,  1787:  "Modern  Learning 
exemplified  by  a  Specimen  of  Collegiate  Examination. 
By  the  Hon.  Francis  Hopkinson,  esq." 

The  Columbian  Magazine,  May,  1787  (Philadelphia). 
Design  for  a  candle-case,  etc.,  by  Hopkinson. 

Account  of  the  Grand  Federal  Procession,  Philadelphia, 
July  4,  1788;  to  which  is  added  a  Letter  on  the  same 
Subject.  Philadelphia,  1788. 

The  Pennsylvania  Packet  or  The  General  Advertiser. 
Philadelphia,  1782-88.  Many  articles  by  Hopkinson, 
signed  "Calamus,"  "Cautious,"  "One  of  the  People," 
"A  Lover  of  Candour,"  "F.  H.,"  etc. 


326     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

BIOGRAPHICAL     AND    CRITICAL    ON     HOPKINSON 

The  American  Museum,  etc.  Vol.  IX,  Appendix,  p.  38,  39. 
(Elegy  by  John  Swanwick.) 

The  Columbian  Magazine,  May,  1791.  Philadelphia.  (Obitu 
ary  and  elegies.) 

The  Complete  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  Edited  by 
John  Bigelow.  New  York,  1888.  (Vol.  VII,  p.  294.) 

Delaplaine's  Repository  of  the  Lives  and  Portraits  of 
Distinguished  American  Characters.  Philadelphia, 
1815.  (Vol.  Ill,  pp.  125-39.) 

The  National  Portrait  Gallery  of  Distinguished  Ameri 
cans,  conducted  by  John  B.  Longacre  (Philadel 
phia)  and  James  Herring  (New  York),  1835.  (Vol. 
III.) 

Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence.  By  John  Sanderson.  Philadelphia,  1823.  (Vol. 
II,  pp.  187-201.) 

Historic  Houses  of  New  Jersey.  By  W.  Jay  Mills.  Phila 
delphia,  1902.  (Pp.  285-^9.) 

The  Journals  of  Hugh  Gainc,  Printer.  Edited  by  Paul 
Leicester  Ford.  New  York,  1902.  (Vol.  I,  p.  io&) 

The  New  York  Mercury,  Printed  by  Hugh  Gaine,  Book 
seller,  Printer  and  Stationer  at  the  Bible  &  Crown,  in 
Hanover  Square.  April  19,  1762.  (Advertisement  of 
new  edition  of  "Science:  A  Poem.") 

The  Literary  History  of  Philadelphia.  By  Ellis  Paxson 
Oberholtzer.  Philadelphia,  1906.  (Pp.  44,  56,  61,  67, 
106,  113,  114-) 

The  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography. 
1878.  (Vol.  II,  pp.  314-24;  Sketch  of  Hopkinson 
by  Charles  R.  Hildeburne.) 

Pennsylvania  State  Trials.  Philadelphia,  1794.  (Vol.  I, 
edited  by  Edmund  Hogan.  The  impeachment  and 
trial  of  Francis  Hopkinson,  judge  of  the  Admiralty.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  327 

Francis  Hopkinson  and  James  Lyon.     By  O.  G.  Sonneck. 

Washington,   1905.     Large  8vo. 
Military  Journal  during  the  American  Revolutionary  War. 

By    James    Thacher.      Boston,    1823.      (Pp.    146-150; 

notes  about  Battle  of  the  Kegs.) 
The  Washington-Duche  Letters.     Edited  by  Worthington 

C.   Ford.     Brooklyn,    1890. 
The  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson.     Edited  by  Paul  L. 

Ford,  New  York,   1892-9.     Vol.  Ill,  p.  495,  Vol.  V, 

pp.  75-8- 
Letters  of  John  Adams  Addressed  to  his  Wife.    Edited  by 

Charles    Francis    Adams.      Boston,    1841.       (Vol.    I, 

PP.    156,    157.) 
The   Literary   History  of  the  American  Revolution.     By 

Moses    Coit   Tyler.     New   York,    1897.      (Vol.    I,   pp. 

164-71,  225,  226,  279-92;  Vol.  II,  pp.  134-57,  etc.) 


HI.     PHILIP   FRENEAU 

WRITINGS     BY     PHILIP     FRENEAU 

(A  full  bibliography  of  Freneau  has  been  compiled  by 
Victor  Hugo  Paltsits.  New  York,  1903.) 

Father  Bumbo's  Pilgrimage  to  Mecca  in  Arabia.  Vol. 
II.  Written  by  H.  B.  and  P.  F.  1770.  (This  is  a 
manuscript  quarto  of  55  leaves,  in  the  history  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.) 

The  American  Village,  a  Poem.  To  which  are  added, 
Several  other  Original  Pieces  in  Verse.  By  Philip 
Freneau,  A.B.  New  York,  1772.  I2mo. 

The  first  printed  poem  by  Freneau,  after  his  commence 
ment  poem,  is  in  an  original  copy  in  the  Library  of 
Congress;  also  in  John  Carter  Brown  Library,  Brown 
University.  From  the  latter  copy  a  reprint  was  made, 
facsimile,  Providence,  1906.  (Club  for  Colonial  Re- 


328     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

prints),  with  an  introduction  by  Harry  Lyman  Koop- 
man,  and  bibliographical  data  by  Victor  Hugo  Paltsits. 

A  Poem  on  the  Rising  Glory  of  America :  Being  an  Exer 
cise  Delivered  at  the  Public  Commencement  at  Nas 
sau-Hall,  September  25,  1771.  Philadelphia:  Aitkin, 
1772.  I2mo.  (Copies  of  this  poem  are  in  the  Li 
brary  of  Congress,  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  Lenox  Library,  New  York  Historical  Society, 
and  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  The  manu 
script  is  in  Princeton  University  Library.) 

American  Liberty.     A  Poem.     New  York,  1775.     I2mo. 

The  Last  Words,  Dying  Speech  and  Confession  of  J— s 
R — g — n,  P — t — r.  (Broadside  in  Lenox  Library.  Mr. 
Paltsits  says  "in  the  style  of  Freneau's  earlier  verse, 
and  perhaps  by  him"  [Bibliography  of  Freneau].) 

General  Gage's  Soliloquy.  New  York:  Hugh  Gaine, 
1775.  (Manuscript  copy  in  the  Library  Company  of 
Philadelphia.  For  further  notes  see  Bibliography  of 
Freneau  by  Paltsits,  p.  28.) 

A  Voyage  to  Boston.  A  Poem.  By  the  Author  of  Ameri 
can  Liberty,  a  Poem.  New  York :  Anderson.  I2mo. 

A  Voyage  to  Boston.  A  Poem.  By  the  Author  of 
American  Liberty,  a  Poem,  Gen.  Gage's  Soliloquy,  &c. 
Philadelphia:  Woodhouse,  1775.  I2mo.  (At  American 
Antiquarian  Society,  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl 
vania.) 

General  Gage's  Confession:  Being  the  Substance  of  His 
Excellency's  last  Conference,  With  his  Ghostly 
Father,  Friar  Francis.  By  the  Author  of  the  Voyage 
to  Boston.  Printed  in  the  Year,  1775  (Gaine).  Small 
8vo. 

American  Independence,  an  everlasting  Deliverance  from 
British  Tyranny:  a  Poem.  Philadelphia,  1778.  I2mo. 
(This  poem  "By  Philip  F ,  Author  of  the 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  339 

American  Village,  Voyage  to  Boston,  &c,"  is  found  in 
the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  The  Travels  of  the  Imagination,  pp.  113-26.) 

The  British  Prison-Ship :  A  Poem,  in  four  Cantos.  Phila 
delphia :  Bailey,  1791.  I2mo.  (Found  at  Brown 
University,  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia.) 

A  Journey  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  by  Way  of 
Burlington  and  South-Amboy.  By  Robert  Slender, 
Stocking  Weaver.  Philadelphia :  Bailey,  1787.  I2mo. 
(This  edition  is  in  the  library  of  Brown  University, 
Library  of  Congress,  and  New  York  Historical  So 
ciety.  Another  edition,  entitled,  A  Laughable  Poem; 
or  Robert  Slender's  Journey,  etc.  By  Philip  Freneau, 
[Philadelphia:  Neversink,  1809.  I2mo],  is  in  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Library  Company 
of  Philadelphia,  and  Brown  University.) 

The  Village  Merchant:  A  Poem.  To  which  is  added  The 
Country  Printer.  Philadelphia,  1794.  Small  8vo. 
(Copies  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Brown  University.) 

The  Poems  of  Philip  Freneau.  Written  chiefly  during  the 
late  War.  Philadelphia,  1786.  Small  8vo. 

The  Miscellaneous  Works  of  Mr.  Philip  Freneau  contain 
ing  his  Essays,  and  additional  Poems.  Philadelphia, 
1788.  Small  I2mo. 

Poems  written  between  the  years  1768  &  1794.  By  Philip 
Freneau  of  N«w  Jersey.  A  New  Edition.  Revised 
and  Corrected  by  the  Author.  Monmouth  (N.  J.). 
Printed  at  the  Press  of  the  Author,  at  Mount-Pleas 
ant,  near  Middetown-Point,  MDCQXCV;  and,  of 
American  Independence,  XIX.  (Fifteen  stars  in 
pyramid.)  8vo. 

Letters  on  Various  interesting  and  important  Subjects, 
many  of  which  have  appeared  in  the  AURORA.  By 


33°     HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Robert  Slender,  O.S.M.  Philadelphia:  Hogan.  De 
cember  30,  1799.  I2mo. 

Poems  written  and  published  during  the  American  Revo 
lutionary  War,  and  now  republished  from  the  original 
Manuscripts;  interspersed  with  Translations  from  the 
Ancients,  and  other  Pieces  not  heretofore  in  Print. 
By  Philip  Freneau.  Philadelphia :  Lydia  Bailey,  1809. 
2  vols.  I2mo. 

A  Collection  of  Poems,  on  American  Affairs,  and  a  variety 
of  other  Subjects,  chiefly  moral  and  political;  writ 
ten  between  the  Year  1797  and  the  present  Time.  By 
Philip  Freneau.  New  York,  1815.  Longworth.  2 
vols.  Small  I2mo. 

Poems  on  various  Subjects,  but  chiefly  illustrative  of  the 
Events  and  Actors  in  the  American  War  of  Inde 
pendence.  By  Philip  Freneau.  London:  Smith,  1861. 
Small  8vo.  Reprint  of  1786  edition. 

Poems  relating  to  the  American  Revolution.  By  Philip 
Freneau.  New  York,  1865.  I2mo  and  royal  8vo. 
(Memoir  and  notes  by  Duyckinck.) 

Some  Account  of  the  Capture  of  the  Ship  Aurora.  New 
York,  1899.  8vo.  (Reprinted  from  manuscript.) 

The  Poems  of  Philip  Freneau.  Edited  by  Fred  L.  Pattee. 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  1902-7.  3  vols. 

NEWSPAPERS    AND   JOURNALS    WHICH    FRENEAU    EDITED   OR    TO 
WHICH    HE    CONTRIBUTED 

The  Freeman's  Journal ;  or,  The  North-American  Intelli 
gencer.  Published  by  Francis  Bailey.  Philadelphia. 
Weekly  newspaper.  (Freneau's  verse  and  occasional 
essays  from  1781  to  1789.  Files  in  Philadelphia  Library 
Company,  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Lenox 
Library,  Library  of  Congress,  American  Antiquarian 
Society.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  331 

National  Gazette.  Edited  by  Freneau.  Philadelphia,  Oc 
tober  3,  1791,  to  October  26,  1793.  Semi-weekly. 

Jersey  Chronicle.  Edited  by  Freneau.  Mount-Pleasant 
(Monmouth),  May  2,  1795,  to  April  30,  1796.  (File  at 
New  York  Historical  Society;  scattered  numbers  at 
American  Antiquarian  Society  and  elsewhere.) 

The  Time-Piece ;  and  Literary  Companion.  Edited  by  Fre 
neau.  New  York,  March  1797,  to  March,  1798.  Tri 
weekly. 

The  Pennsylvania  Packet  and  Daily  Advertiser.  Phila 
delphia.  (Many  poems  by  Freneau  from  1782  to 
1788.) 

The  United  States  Magazine:  A  Repository  of  History, 
Politics  and  Literature.  Vol.  I,  for  the  year  1779. 
Edited  by  H.  H.  Brackenridge.  Philadelphia.  (Many 
contributions  by  Freneau.) 

The  American  Museum,  Vol.  I,  p.  77  (January,  1787. 
Under  "Original  Poetry,"  attributed  to  Freneau,  is 
"The  Death-Song  of  the  Cherokee  Indian.") 

BIOGRAPHICAL   AND    CRITICAL   ON    FRENEAU 

A  Bibliography  of  the  Separate  and  Collected  Works  of 
Philip  Freneau,  Together  with  an  Account  of  His 
Newspapers.  By  Victor  Hugo  Paltsits.  New  York, 
1903. 

Philip  Freneau :  The  Poet  of  the  Revolution.  A  History 
of  His  Life  and  Times.  By  Mary  S.  Austin.  Edited 
by  Helen  Kearny  Vreeland.  New  York,  1901. 

The  Political  Activities  of  Philip  Freneau.  By  Samuel  E. 
Forman,  Ph.D.  The  Johns  Hopkins  University 
Studies,  in  Historical  and  Political  Science.  Series 
XX,  Nos.  9,  10.  Baltimore,  1902. 

Obituary  Notices  of  Freneau  in : 
The   Monmouth  Inquirer,   December   19,   1832. 


332    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  New  York  Evening  Post,  December  27,  1832. 
The  New  York  Spectator,  December  31,  1832. 
The  New  York  Mirror,  January  12,  1833. 
Philip  Freneau :    The  Huguenot  Patriot-Poet  of  the  Revo 
lution.     By  Edward  F.  DeLancey.     New  York,   1898. 

Also   in   Proceedings   of   the   Huguenot   Society,   Vol. 

II,  No.  2. 
The  Memorial   History  of   the   City  of   New   York.     By 

James    Grant    Wilson.      New    York,    1893.      4    vols. 

(Several  references  in  Vols.  II,  III,  and  IV.) 
Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson.     Edited  by  Paul  Leicester 

Ford.     (Vol.  I,  p.  231;  Vol.  V,  pp.  330,  336;  Vol.  VI, 

pp.  101-9,  134,  328,  438,  443-) 
Jefferson  Papers,  Series  I  and  II.     Manuscript  in  Library 

of  Congress. 

Madison  Papers.     Library  of  Congress. 
The  Character  of  Thomas  Jefferson  as  Exhibited  in  His 

Own  Writings.       By  Theodore  Dwight.     New  York, 

1839-     (Pp.  129-49.) 
The  Literary  History  of   Philadelphia.     By  Ellis   Paxson 

Oberholtzer.     Philadelphia,   1906,  pp.   115-29. 
The  Journals  of  Hugh   Gaine,   Printer.     Edited  by   Paul 

Leicester  Ford.     New  York,  1902.     (Vol.  I,  pp.  9,  34, 

55,  63,  73,  138-) 
Manuscript    Letters    by    and    about    Philip    Freneau.      In 

Pickering  Papers,  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

(Vols.  XXIX  and  LV.) 
The  Issues  of  the  Press  of  Pennsylvania,  1685-1785.     By 

Charles  R.  Hildeburne.     Philadelphia,  1885.     (Vol.  II, 

P-  148.) 

Historic  Houses  of  New  Jersey.    By  W.  Jay  Mills.    Phila 
delphia,  1902.     (Pp.  75,  145,  180,  195.) 
History  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  from  Its  Origin  in 

1746  to  the  Commencement  of  1854.     By  John  Mac- 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  333 

Lean.     Philadelphia,  1877.     (Vol.  I,  chap.  15,  pp.  309- 

22.) 
A  History  of  Journalism  in  the  United  States  from  1690 

to    1872.      By    Frederic    Hudson.      New    York,    1873. 

(Pp.  103,  in,  134-36,  175,  185-87-) 
Narrative  of  a  Journey  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  in 

1789-1790,   by   Major    Samuel    S.   Forman.      (With   a 

Memoir  and  Illustrative  Notes.)     By  Lyman  C.  Dra 
per.     Cincinnati,  1888.     (Pp.  9-1 1.) 
The    Southern   Literary   Messenger.      (Vol.   VIII,   No.    i, 

pp.    2,   3.      Note   about   commencement   poem   written 

with  Brackenridge.) 
Personal  Memoirs  and  Recollections  of  Editorial  Life.    By 

Joseph  T.  Buckingham.     Boston,   1852.     (Vol.  II,  pp. 

137-46.) 

American   Poems.     Litchfield,    1793.      (Scattered   poems.) 
The  Literary  History  of  the  American   Revolution.     By 

Moses    Coit   Tyler.      New    York,    1897.      (Vol.    I,    pp. 

171-83;  413-25;  Vol.  II,  pp.  249-76.) 
Magazine  of  American  History.  Vol.  XVII,  1887,  pp.  120-7. 

IV.     JOHN   TRUMBULL 

WRITINGS   BY  JOHN   TRUMBULL 

An  Essay  on  the  Use  and  Advantages  of  the  Fine  Arts; 
Delivered  at  the  Public  Commencement  in  New  Haven, 
Sept.  12,  1770.  New  Haven,  1770.  Pp.  16.  8vo. 
(Copies  of  this  essay  are  in  the  libraries  of  Yale  Uni 
versity,  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Library  of 
Congress,  and  Watkinson  Library,  Hartford.) 

The  Progress  of  Dulness,  Part  First:  or  the  Rare  Ad 
ventures  of  Tom  Brainless;  Printed  in  the  Year  1772. 
New  Haven.  Pp.  19.  8vo.  (Second  edition,  New 
Haven,  1773.  Pp.  20.  8vo.) 


334    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  Progress  of  Dulness,  Part  Second:  or  An  Essay  on 
the  Life  and  Character  of  Dick  Hairbrain.  New 
Haven,  1773.  Pp.  27.  8vo. 

The  Progress  of  Dulness,  Part  Third;  or  the  The  Ad 
ventures  of  Miss  Harriet  Simple.  New  Haven,  1773. 
Pp.  28.  8vo. 

The  Progress  of  Dulness :  or  the  Rare  Adventures  of  Tom 
Brainless.  By  the  celebrated  author  of  McFINGAL. 
Exeter,  1794.  Pp.  72.  i6mo.  (3  parts.) 

M'Fingal :  A  Modern  Epic  Poem.  Canto  First,  or  The 
Town-Meeting.  Philadelphia.  Printed  and  Sold  by 
William  and  Thomas  Bradford,  at  the  London  Coffce- 
House,  1775.  i6mo. 

M'Fingal :  A  Modern  Epic  Poem.  Cantos  First  and 
Second.  The  Town-Meeting.  Hartford,  Philadelphia, 
and  Boston,  1776;  London,  1776.  i6mo. 

M'Fingal :  A  Modern  Epic  Poem,  in  Four  Cantos.  Hart 
ford,  1782.  Pp.  loo.  8vo.  (This  first  edition  was 
printed  by  Hudson  &  Goodwin.  Two  other  editions 
appeared  in  Hartford  the  same  year;  one  printed  by 
Nathaniel  Patten;  the  other,  by  Bavil  Webster.) 

Later  editions  of  M'Fingal,  to  be  found  in  the  Watkin- 
son  Library  of  Hartford,  the  Boston  Public  Library,  the 
Lenox  Library,  Brown  University,  Massachusetts  Histori 
cal  Society,  and  the  Library  of  Congress,  are: 

M'Fingal :  A  Modern  Epic  Poem,  in  Four  Cantos.  Phila 
delphia,  1791.  Pp.  95.  I2mo. 

M'Fingal:  A  Modern  Epic  Poem.  London:  (Jordan), 
1792.  Pp.  142.  8vo. 

M'Fingal:  A  Modern  Epic  Poem;  Embellished  with  Nine 
Copper  plates;  designed  and  engraved  by  E.  Tisdale. 
The  first  edition  with  plates  and  explanatory  notes. 
New  York,  1795.  Pp.  136.  8vo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  335 

M'Fingal :    With  explanatory  notes.     Boston,  1799.     i6mo. 
M'Fingal:     A  Modern  Epic  Poem.     Baltimore,  1812.     Pp. 

146.     24mo. 
M'Fingal,    etc.,    Albany,    1813.      Hallowell,    1813;    Boston, 

1826.     Philadelphia,  1839. 
M'Fingal :     A  Modern  Poem.     With  Notes  by  Benson  J. 

Lossing.     New  York,  1864.     i6mo. 
M'Fingal,  etc.     New  York,  1857,  1860,  1881. 
An  Elegy  on  the  Times:     First  Printed  at  Boston,  Sept. 
20th,  A.D.  1774.  Reprinted  New  Haven,  1775.  Pp.   15. 
8vo. 

The  Poetical  Works  of  John  Trumbull,  LL.D.,  containing 
M'Fingal,    a    Modern    Epic    Poem,    revised    and    cor 
rected,  with  copious  explanatory  notes :    The  Progress 
of  Dulness;  and  a  Collection  of  Poems  on  Various 
Subjects  written  before  and  during  the  Revolutionary 
War.     Hartford,  1820.     Printed  for  Samuel  G.  Good 
rich,  by  Lincoln  &  Stone.     2  vols.     8vo. 
Selected  poems  by  Trumbull  may  be  found  in: 
American  Poems;  Selected  and  Original  (1793).    Litch- 

field.     (Edited  by  Dr.  Elihu  Smith.) 
The  Poets  of  Connecticut.     By  Rev.  Charles  W.  Ever 
est     Hartford,   1843. 
Specimens    of    American     Poetry.      By     Samuel    Kettell. 

Boston,  1829.     Vols  I,  II. 
Early  essays  by  Trumbull  may  be  found  in: 

Boston    Chronicle,    September,    1769,    to   January,    1770. 
("The    Meddler"    and    "The    Schemer."      A    large 
number  of  these  essays  were  by  him.) 
Connecticut    Journal,    February   to    July,    1770.      ("The 

Correspondent.") 

Connecticut  Courant  and  Weekly  Intelligencer,  August  7 
and  14,  1775.  (Parodies  in  verse  on  General  Gage's 
proclamations.) 


336    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL  ON  TRUMBULL 

Federalism  Triumphant  in  the  Steady  Habits  of  Con 
necticut  Alone,  or,  the  Turnpike  Road  to  a  Fortune.  A 
Comic  Opera,  or  Political  Farce  in  Six  Acts,  as  performed 
at  the  Theatres  Royal  and  Aristocratic  at  Hartford  and 
New  Haven,  October,  1801.  Printed  in  the  Year,  1802. 
(no  place.)  Trumbull  is  one  of  the  characters. 

Connecticut  Journal,  September  30,  1770.  (Reference  to 
his  Essay  on  the  Fine  Arts.) 

The  Origin  of  M'Fingal.  By  J.  Hammond  Trumbull. 
Historical  Magazine,  January,  1868. 

Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County,  1633-1884. 
By  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D.  Boston,  1886.  2 
vols.  (Several  references.) 

The  Town  and  City  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut,  from  the 
Aboriginal  Period  to  the  Year  Eighteen  Hundred 
and  Ninety-Five.  Edited  by  Joseph  Anderson,  D.D. 
New  Haven,  1896.  (Vol.  I,  pp.  326-29;  Vol.  II,  pp. 
9,  546;  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  923-26.) 

Brinton  Eliot;  From  Yale  to  Yorktown.  By  James 
Eugene  Farmer.  New  York,  1902.  (Chap.  7.) 

The  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution.  By 
Tyler.  New  York,  1897.  (Vol.  I,  pp.  188-221,  427-50.) 

List  of  Books  Printed  in  Connecticut  from  1709  to  1800. 
By  James  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D.,  L.H.D.  1904. 
(Acorn  Club.) 

Letters  among  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  Papers,  at  Connecti 
cut  Historical  Society. 

Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Graduates  of  Yale  College, 
with  Annals  of  the  College  History.  By  Franklin  B. 
Dexter.  New  York.  Third  Series,  1903,  pp.  251-7,  etc. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  337 

V.    THE  "HARTFORD  WITS" 

WRITINGS    BY    AND    ABOUT    THE    "HARTFORD    WITS" 

The  New  Haven  Gazette  and  the  Connecticut  Magazine, 
October  19,  1786,  to  February  5,  1787.  ("The  Ameri 
can  Antiquities,"  later  collected  as  "The  Anarchiad.") 

The  Anarchiad.  A  New  England  Poem.  Written  in  con 
cert  by  David  Humphreys,  Joel  Barlow,  John  Trum- 
bull,  and  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins.  Now  first  published 
in  book  form.  Edited,  with  notes  and  appendices, 
by  Luther  G.  Riggs,  New  Haven,  1861.  Pp.  120. 


The    American    Mercury,    Printed    by    Elisha    Babcock. 

Hartford.      August    8,     1791,     to     March     12,     1792. 

(Numbers  of  "The  Echo.") 
The  Echo  with  Other  Poems.     Printed  at  the  Porcupine 

Press  by  Pasquin  Petronius.     New  York,  1807.     8vo. 

(The  printer  was  Isaac  Riley.) 
The  Political  Green-House  for  the  Year  1798.    Addressed 

to  the  Readers  of  the  Connecticut  Courant,  January 

ist,  1799.     Hartford,  no  date.     (Written  by  Theodore 

Dwight,  Richard  Alsop,  and  Lemuel  Hopkins.     Small 

8vo.     Included  in  "Echo,"  pp.  233-59.) 
Guillotina    for    1797.     Addressed   to   the   Readers    of   the 

Connecticut  Courant     Hartford,  January  i,  1797.     (A 

broadside,     unidentified,     in     Connecticut     Historic* 

Society.) 
The  Democratiad.    A  Poem  in  Retaliation,  for  the  Phila 

delphia  Jockey   Club.     By   a   Gentleman  of   Connecti 

cut.      Philadelphia,    1795.      Pp.    22.      8vo.      (In    "The 

Echo,"  pp.  127-40;  supposed  to  be  by  Dr.  Hopkins.) 
The  Guillotina,  or  a  Democratic   Dirge  :     A   Poem.     By 

the   Author  of   Democratiad.     Philadelphia.     Pp.    14. 

8vo.     (Probably  by  Hopkins.) 


338    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  last  two  pamphlets  may  be  found  at  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society,  Lenox  Library,  and  Library  of 
Congress. 

Aristocracy;  an  Epic  Poem  by  De  Bellare  Superbos.  Bk. 
I.  Philadelphia,  1795.  (At  Library  of  Congress  cata 
logued  as  Richard  Alsop's  [?].) 

The  Poets  of  Connecticut.  By  Rev.  Charles  W.  Everest. 
Hartford,  1843.  8vo. 

A  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Yale  College.  By  William 
L.  Kingsley.  Boston,  1835.  (Vol.  I.) 

List  of  Books  Printed  in  Connecticut  from  1709  to  1800. 
By  James  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D.,  L.H.D.,  1904. 
(Acorn  Club.) 

American     Poems;     Selected     and     Original.       Litchfield, 

1793- 

Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol.  XX,  1865,  pp.  187-201.  The  New 
Englander,  January,  1882. 

WRITINGS   BY    AND   ABOUT   JOEL   BARLOW 

The  Prospect  of  Peace,  a  Poetical  Composition  delivered 
in  Yale  College,  at  the  Public  Examination,  July  23, 
1778.  New  Haven,  1788.  Pp.  12.  8vo. 

The  Vision  of  Columbus;  a  Poem  in  Nine  Books.  Hart 
ford,  1787.  Pp.  258.  8vo.  (2d  ed.  Hartford,  1787; 
I2mo.) 

Conspiracy  of  Kings.  London,  1792;  Paris,  1793.  Pp.  32. 
4to. 

Advice  to  the  Privileged  Orders  in  Several  States  of 
Europe.  Part  I.  Pp.  156.  8vo.  London  (2d  ed.), 

1792-93. 

Hasty  Pudding;  a  Poem.  In  three  cantos.  Written  at 
Chambery,  in  Savoy,  January  I,  1793.  New  Haven, 
1796;  Salem,  1799;  Albany,  1807;  Boston,  1810.  Pp. 
16.  8vo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  339 

Joel  Barlow  to  his  Fellow  Citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  America.  Paris,  1799.  Pp.  27.  8vo. 

The  Political  Writings  of  Joel  Barlow :  A  new  edition. 
New  York,  1796.  Pp.  258.  i6mo. 

The  Columbiad.  A  Poem  by  Joel  Barlow.  Philadelphia, 
1807;  Philadelphia,  1809;  London,  1809;  Paris,  1813; 
Washington,  1825.  Pp.  454.  8vo. 

Critical  Observations  on  the  Poem  of  Joel  Barlow,  The 
Columbiad.  By  M.  Gregoire.  Reply  by  Joel  Barlow. 
Washington  City,  1809.  (This  last,  as  well  as  other 
writings  mentioned,  is  in  the  Library  of  Congress.) 

Life  and  Letters  of  Joel  Barlow;  Poet,  Statesman,  Phi 
losopher.  By  Charles  B.  Todd.  New  York,  1886. 

Three  Men  of  Letters.  By  Moses  Coit  Tyler.  New 
York,  1895. 

Manuscript  letters  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  in  folio  at  Con 
necticut  Historical  Society. 

Manuscript  letters  to  wife  and  friends ;  also  an  unfinished 
poem,  "The  Canal;"  at  Pequot  Library,  Southport, 
Conn. 

Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County.  By  J.  Hammond 
Trumbull.  New  Haven,  1886.  (Several  references 
to  Barlow  and  the  other  "wits.") 

WRITINGS     OF     DAVID     HUMPHREYS 

The  Miscellaneous  Works  of  David  Humphreys,  Late 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  United  States  of 
America  to  the  Court  of  Madrid.  New  York,  1804. 
8vo. 

Miscellaneous  Works,  etc.,  (containing  Poems  and  Life 
of  Israel  Putnam).  New  York,  1790.  (In  this  vol 
ume  is  the  play,  "The  Widow  of  Malabar,"  which 
was  not  included  in  the  Miscellaneous  Works,  1804.) 


340    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

A  Poem  addressed  to  the  Armies  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  By  a  Gentleman  of  the  Army.  New  Haven, 
1780.  Pp.  16.  8vo.  Reprinted,  New  Haven,  1785; 
Paris,  1786  as  —  Discours  en  vers,  addresse  aux 
officiers  et  aux  soldats  des  differentes  armees  ameri- 
caines.  Paris,  1786. 

A  Poem  on  the  Happiness  of  America  ;  addressed  to  the 
Citizens  of  the  United  States  by  David  Humphreys, 
LL.D.  London,  1786;  Hartford,  1786.  Pp.  51.  4to. 

An  Essay  on  the  Life  of  the  Honourable  Major-General 
Israel  Putnam;  addressed  to  the  State  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati  in  Connecticut.  Hartford,  1788;  Middle 
town,  1794;  Philadelphia,  1798;  Boston,  1818.  I2mo. 

Life  and  Exploits  of  Israel   Putnam.     New  York,   1834. 


Memoirs  of  the  life,  adventures  &  military  exploits  of 
Israel  Putnam,  Senior  Major-general  in  the  Revolu 
tionary  army  of  the  United  States,  and  next  in  rank 
to  Gen.  Washington  (by  David  Humphreys).  New 
York:  Duyckinck,  1815.  Pp.  108.  241110. 

A  Poem  on  Industry;  addressed  to  the  Citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  By  Col.  David  Hum 
phreys,  Minister  Resident  at  the  Court  of  Lisbon. 
Philadelphia,  1794.  8vo. 

Valedictory  Discourse  delivered  before  the  Cincinnati  of 
Connecticut,  in  Hartford,  July  4,  1804,  at  the  Disso 
lution  of  the  Society.  By  Col.  David  Humphreys. 

Letters  from  the  Hon.  David  Humphreys,  F.R.S.  to  the 
Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  President  of  the  Royal  So 
ciety,  London,  containing  some  ACCOUNT  of  the 
SERPENT  of  the  OCEAN,  frequently  seen  in 
Gloucester  Bay.  New  York,  1817. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  341 

The  Yankey  in  England,  a  Drama,  in  Five  Acts.  By 
General  Humphreys.  (No  date,  nor  place,  but  the 
preface  signed  D.  Humphreys,  Humphreysville,  Sept. 
i,  1815.)  A  copy  is  in  Boston  Athenaeum. 

BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    CRITICAL    ON    DAVID    HUMPHREYS 

Yale  and   Her   Honor-Roll   in  the   American   Revolution, 

1775-1783.     By  Henry  P.  Johnston.     New  York,  1888. 
Seymour;  Past  and  Present.    By  Rev.  Hollis  A.  Campbell, 

William   C.   Sharpe,   and  Frank   G.   Basset,   Seymour, 

1902. 
Chapter  Sketches,  Connecticut  D.  A.  R.     Edited  by  Mary 

Philotheta  Root.     New  Haven.      (1900.) 
The  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson.     Edited  by  Paul  L. 

Ford.     (Vol.  I,  pp.  216,  233;  Vol.  IX,  p.  225,  226.) 
The   Writings   of   Washington.     Collected   and  edited  by 

Worthington  C.  Ford,  New  York,  1891.     (Vol.  X,  pp. 

473,  474-) 
The  Veil  Removed;  or,  Reflections  on  Humphrey's  Essay 

on   the    Life    of    Putnam.      By   John   Fellows.      New 

York,  1843. 
Manuscript     letters     in     Pickering     Papers.       Vol.     XXI. 

(Massachusetts  Historical  Society.) 

WRITINGS    BY    AND    ABOUT    THEODORE    DWIGHT 

An  Oration  before  the  Connecticut  Society  for  the  Promo 
tion  of  Freedom  convened  at  Hartford,  May  8, 
1794.  Hartford,  1794.  Pp.  24.  8vo. 

An  Oration  spoken  at  Hartford,  July  4th,  1798.  Hartford, 
1798.  Pp.  31.  8vo. 

The  Triumph  of  Democracy,  a  Poem.  January  I,  1801. 
(No  name  nor  place;  in  "The  Echo,"  pp.  267-82.) 

History  of  the  Hartford  Convention  with  a  Review  of 
the  Policy  of  the  United  States  Government  which  led 
to  the  War  of  1812.  New  York,  1833.  8vo. 


342    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  Character  of  Thomas  Jefferson  as  Exhibited  in  his 

Own  Writings.     Boston,  1839.     I2mo. 
Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County.     By  J.  Hammond 

Trumbull,  LL.D.  Boston,  1886.     (Vol.  I,  pp.  124,  157, 

160,  385,  5i6,  612.) 

WRITINGS    BY   AND   ABOUT   RICHARD   ALSOP 

To  the  Freemen  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  (Anon., 
no  place;  1803.  In  copy  at  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  a  note  is  written  in  ink,  "By  Richard  Alsop; 
Middletown,  Sept.  12,  1803.") 

The    Charms    of    Fancy.      A     Poem    in    Four    Cantos. 
Edited    from    the    original    manuscript    by    Theodore 
Dwight.     New  York,  1856.     Pp.  214.    8vo. 
A   Poem  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  George  Washington, 
Late  President  of  the  United  States  and  Commander- 
in-Chief    of    the    Armies    of    the    United    States,    by 
Richard  Alsop.     Hartford,  1800.     Pp.  23.     8vo. 
Verses  to  a  Shearwater,  in  Specimens  of  American  Poetry. 

By  Samuel  Kettell.     (Vol.  II,  p.  60.) 
Runic    translation;    Twilight    of    the    Gods,    in    American 

Poems;  Selected  and  Original  (1793).    Pp.  265-272. 
Translations : 

The  Enchanted  Lake  of  the  Fairy  Morgana.  From  the 
Orlando  Inamorata  of  Francisco  Berni.  New 
York,  1806.  8vo. 

An  Appendix  to  the  Civil  and  Political  History  of  Chili ; 
translated   from  Juan  Ignacio  Molina.     New  York, 
1808.  8vo. 
Selections  in  The  Poets  of  Connecticut.     By  Rev.  Charles 

W.   Everest.     1843.      (Pp.   73-91.) 

Manuscript  letter  to  Dr.  Mason  Cogswell  about  The  Echo, 
at  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  in  John  Trum- 
bull's  copy  of  The  Echo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  343 

Possibly  the  author  of  Aristocracy,  an  Epic  Poem  by  De 
Bellare  Superbos.  Philadelphia,  1795. 

WRITINGS    BY    AND    ABOUT    LEMUEL    HOPKINS 

The  Democratiad.  A  Poem  in  Retaliation,  for  the  Phila 
delphia  Jockey  Club.  By  a  Gentleman  of  Connecti 
cut.  Philadelphia,  1795.  Pp.  22.  8vo.  (Reprinted  in 
The  Echo.) 

The  Guillotina,  or  a  Democratic  Dirge.  A  Poem.  By 
the  Author  of  Democratiad.  Philadelphia.  Pp.  14. 
(Reprinted  in  The  Echo.) 

New  Year's  Verses,  For  the  Connecticut  Courant,  January 
i,  1795.  Hartford,  1795.  (Reprinted  in  The  Echo.) 

Specimens  of  American  Poetry.  By  Samuel  Kettell.  (Vol. 
I,  pp.  272-83-) 

The  Poets  of  Connecticut.  By  Charles  W.  Everest.  1843. 
(Pp.  51-58.) 

American  Medical  Biography;  or,  Memoirs  of  Eminent 
Physicians.  By  James  Thacher,  M.E).  Boston,  1828. 
(Vol.  I,  pp.  298-306.) 

Manuscript  letters  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  at  Connecticut 
Historical  Society. 

The  Town  and  City  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut,  from  the 
Aboriginal  Period  to  the  Year  Eighteen  Hundred  and 
Ninety-Five.  Edited  by  Joseph  Anderson,  D.D.  New 
Haven,  1896.  3  vols.  (Many  references  to  Hopkins.) 

Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County.  By  J.  Hammond 
Trumbull,  LL.D.  Boston,  1886.  Vol.  I,  pp.  139-58. 


VI.     JOSEPH  DENNIE 

WRITINGS    BY    DENNIE 

The  Lay  Preacher;  or  Short  Sermons  for  Idle  Readers. 
Walpole  (N.  H.),  1796.    Pp.  132.     i6mo. 


344    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  Spirit  of  the  Farmer's  Museum  and  Lay  Preacher's 
Gazette.  Walpole.  Carlyle,  printer  for  Thomas  & 
Thomas.  1801.  Pp.  318.  I2mo. 

The  Lay  Preacher,  collected  and  arranged  by  John  E. 
Hall,  Esq.  Counsellor  at ' Law.  Published  at  Phila 
delphia  by  Harrison  Hall,  at  the  Portfolio  Office,  1817. 
Pp.  1 68.  i6mo. 

New  and  Original  Essays  by  Joseph  Dennie.  Philadelphia, 
1818.  (Only  one  in  the  series  appeared,  so  far  as 
known.) 

The  New  Hampshire  Journal;  or  The  Farmer's  Weekly 
Museum.  Walpole,  1793-97.  (Contributions  by  Den 
nie  during  these  years.  Some  later  issues  were  en 
titled  The  Farmer's  Museum:  New  Hampshire  & 
Vermont  Journal,  1797-1810.) 

The  Tablet:  A  Miscellaneous  Paper  devoted  to  the 
Belles-Lettres.  (Edited  by  Dennie.)  Boston.  4to. 
May  19,  1795,  to  August  n,  1795.  (No  more  issued.) 

The  Port  Folio  by  Oliver  Oldschool.  Philadelphia.  1801- 
12.  (Started  and  edited  by  Dennie.)  Weekly,  1801-8; 
monthly  1809-12.  (The  journal  continued  in  vari 
ous  forms  until  1827;  published  by  Maxwell;  4to  of 
8  pages  as  weekly.) 

Two  letters  from  Dennie  to  Hon.  Jeremiah  Mason. 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Proceedings, 
March,  1880,  Vol.  XVII,  pp.  362-65.) 

Letters  by  Dennie  to  Timothy  Pickering,  in  Pickering 
Papers  (Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Vol.  X, 
XIII,  XXIV.) 

Letters  and  manuscript,  in  Adams  Papers,  from  Dennie  to 
John  Quincy  Adams.  (In  the  possession  of  Charles 
Francis  Adams.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  345 

CRITICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL    ON    DENNIE 

Sketch  of  Dennie.  [By.  Colonel  W.  W.  Clapp.]  Cam 
bridge,  1880.  8vo. 

The  Philadelphia  Souvenir:  A  Collection  of  Fugitive 
Pieces  from  The  Philadelphia  Press,  with  Biographi 
cal  and  Explanatory  Notes  by  J.  E.  Hall.  Philadel 
phia,  1826.  (Pp.  70-136.) 

Walpole  as  It  Was  and  as  It  Is,  containing  the  Complete 
Civil  History  of  the  Town  from  1749  to  1879.  By 
George  Aldrich.  Claremont,  N.  H.,  1880.  (Pp.  74-82.) 

History  of  Philadelphia.  By  Scharf  and  Westcott.  Phila 
delphia,  1884.  (Vol.  I,  pp.  508,  509;  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1979.) 

The  Literary  History  of  Philadelphia.  By  Ellis  Paxson 
Oberholtzer.  Philadelphia,  1906.  (Pp.  168-83,  189, 
264.) 

Memoirs,  Journal  and  Correspondence  of  Thomas  Moore. 
Edited  by  Lord  John  Russell.  London,  1856.  (Vari 
ous  passing  references  in  Vols.  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  VI, 
VII,  VIII.) 

Poetical  Works  of  Thomas  Moore.  Leipzig,  1842.  (Col 
lected  and  annotated  by  himself.  Vol.  I,  references 
in  Preface  and  notes.) 

Life  of  Josiah  Quincy  by  His  Son,  Edmund  Quincy.  Bos 
ton,  1867.  (Pp.  30-33.) 

Memoirs  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  Edited  by  Charles 
Francis  Adams.  Philadelphia,  1877.  (Vol.  I,  p.  240; 
Vol.  IX,  p.  239.) 

Personal  Memoirs,  Anecdotes  and  Reminiscences.  By  J.  T. 
Buckingham.  Boston,  1850,  1852.  Vol.  II,  pp.  175-90, 
195-202,  226.)  Some  editions  have  title,  Specimens  of 
Newspaper  Literature,  with  Memoirs,  etc. 

A  History  of  Journalism  in  the  United  States  from  1690  to 
1872.  By  Frederic  Hudson.  New  York,  1873.  (Vol. 
II,  pp.  51-64,  708-18.) 


346    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  New  Englander  Galaxy,  July  24,  1818.     (Anecdote  of 

Dennie's  law-experience  as  given  by  Royall  Tyler.) 
Benjamin's   Collector,  February,   1896;   article  by  Charles 

Henry  Hart.     (Two  letters  from  Moore  to  J.  E.  Hall, 

with  many  references  to  Dennie.) 
The   Critic,   June,    1888.      (Two   Letters    from    Moore    to 

Dennie.) 
New    England    Magazine,    August,    1896.      ("Damon   and 

Pythias  among  our  Early  Journalists.") 
Curiosities  of  Literature.    By  D'Israeli  and  Griswold.  New 

York,  1848.     (Pp.  51,  52.) 
Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XVII,  1887.    Pp.  117, 

118. 
The  Historical  Magazine,  December,  1857,  p.  379.     Rufus 

Griswold's  reference  to   Dennie's  portrait. 
American   Historical   and   Literary   Curiosities.     Collected 

and  edited  by  J.  Jay  Smith  and  John  F.  Watson.    New 

York,   1850.     Plate  XLI.     (Letter  and  song  sent  by 

Moore  to  Dennie.) 


VII.     WILLIAM    DUNLAP 

WRITINGS     BY     DUNLAP 

Complete  lists  of  Dunlap's  plays  may  be  found  in: 

Second  edition  of  Early  American  Plays  by  Oscar 
Wegelin,  with  Introduction  by  John  Malone.  New 
York,  1905.  The  first  edition,  1900,  has  only  a 
partial  list. 

Introduction  to  The  Father,  or  American  Shandyism, 
reprinted  by  the  Dunlap  Society.  New  York,  1887. 
(Pp.  x,  xi.) 

The  following  are  some  of  Dunlap's  most  representa 
tive  plays,  to  be  found  generally  at  libraries  with  a  collec 
tion  of  Americana: 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  347 

The  Father,  or  American  Shandyism.  A  Comedy  in  five 
acts.  Written  by  a  Citizen  of  New  York.  New  York, 
1789.  8vo.  Reprint  of  the  above  by  the  Dunlap  So 
ciety,  New  York,  1887.  Introduction  by  Thomas  J. 
McKee.  The  same  play  was  printed  later  as  The 
Father  of  an  Only  Child,  by  William  Dunlap.  New 
York,  1807.  I2mo. 

Darby's  Return:  a  Comic  Sketch.     New  York,  1789. 

Darby's  Return,  an  Interlude.     New  York,  1806.    8vo. 

The  Archers,  or  Mountaineers  of  Switzerland,  an  Opera, 
in  Three  Acts,  by  an  American.  New  York,  1796. 
8vo. 

Tell  Truth  and  Shame  the  Devil ;  a  comedy  in  2  acts,  as 
performed  by  the  old  American  Company,  New  York, 

I797- 

Andre:  A  Tragedy  in  Five  Acts.  New  York,  1798. 
Reprint  of  this  edition  by  the  Dunlap  Society,  New 
York,  1887;  Introduction  by  J.  Brander  Matthews.) 

Andre  :  A  Tragedy  in  Five  Acts ;  To  which  are  added  Au 
thentic  Documents  respecting  Major  Andre,  Consisting 
of  letters  to  Miss  Seward,  The  Cow  Chase;  a  Satiri 
cal  poem  by  Major  John  Andre;  with  the  proceedings 
of  court  martial.  New  York:  Swords,  1798.  Lon 
don,  1799. 

False  Shame,  or  The  American  Orphan  in  Germany.  A 
Comedy  in  Four  acts,  translated  from  the  German  of 
Kotzebue.  New  York,  1800;  Charleston,  1800.  I2mo. 

Abaellino;  the  Great  Bandit.  Translated  from  the  Ger 
man  of  Tschokke  and  adapted  to  the  New  York 
Theatre.  New  York,  1802;  Boston  and  New  York, 
1803.  I2mo. 

Ribbemont,  or  the  Feudal  Baron.  A  Tragedy  in  Five 
Acts.  New  York,  1803.  i8mo. 


348    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

The  Glory  of  Columbia;  her  Yoemanry.  A  Play  in  Five 
Acts.  The  Songs,  Duets,  and  Choruses,  intended  for 
the  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  at  the  New 
York  Theatre.  New  York,  1803,  1817.  I2mo. 

The  Voice  of  Nature;  A  Drama  in  3  Acts  from  French 
Melodrama,  Le  Jugemcnt  de  Salomon.  New  York, 
1803.  i8mo. 

Blue  Beard;  or  Female  Curiosity;  a  dramatic  romance  in 
three  acts,  as  altered  for  the  New  York  Theatre,  with 
additional  songs,  by  William  Dunlap.  New  York, 
1803,  1806.  i8mo. 

Lord  Leicester;  a  Tragedy.    New  York,  1807.    i6mo. 

Fontaineville  Abbey.  A  Tragedy.  New  York,  1807.  i8mo. 

The  Blind  Boy;  a  Melodrama  as  performed  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  Covent  Garden.  London,  1808;  New 
York,  1808.  I2mo.  (Altered  from  Kotzebue's  Epi 
gram.) 

Rinaldo  Rinaldini,  or  the  Great  Banditti,  New  York,  1810. 

The  Africans  or  War,  Love  and  Duty.  Philadelphia,  1811; 
Hartford,  1814. 

Yankee  Chronology:  a  musical  interlude  in  one  Act  to 
which  is  added  Patriotic  Songs  of  the  Freedom  of 
the  Seas  &  Yankee  Tars.  New  York,  1812.  i6mo. 

Yankee  Chronology  or  Huzza  for  the  American  Navy. 
(Broadside,  1813-14.)  In  American  Antiquarian 
Society. 

The  Italian  Father;  a  comedy  in  Five  Acts.  New  York, 
1810. 

Lover's  Vows,  a  play  in  five  acts.  New  York,  1814.  I2mo. 
(From  the  German  of  Kotzebue.) 

A  Trip  to  Niagara,  or  Travellers  in  America.  A  Farce  in 
Three  Acts  written  for  the  Bowery  Theatre,  N.  Y. 
By  William  Dunlap,  Historical  and  Portrait  Painter; 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  349 

author  of  Memoirs  of  G.  F.  Cooke,  C.  B.  Brown, 
Father  of  an  Only  Child,  etc.  New  York,  1830.  i8mo. 

Ella:  a  Norwegian  Tale,  in  American  Poems,  Litchfield, 
(1793),  PP-  226-31. 

Memoirs  of  George  Fred  Cooke,  Esq.,  Late  of  the 
Theatre  Royal,  Covent  Garden,  by  William  Dunlap, 
Esq.  London,  1813.  2  vols. 

The  Life  of  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  together  with  Se 
lections  from  the  Rarest  of  his  Printed  Works,  from 
His  Original  Letters,  and  from  his  Manuscripts  Be 
fore  Unpublished.  By  William  Dunlap.  In  two  vol 
umes.  Philadelphia,  1815. 

Thirty  Years  Ago ;  or,  Memoirs  of  a  Water  Drinker. 
New  York,  1836.  2  vols. 

A  History  of  the  American  Theatre  by  William  Dunlap, 
Vice-President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design, 
Author  of  Memoirs  of  George  Fred  Cooke,  C.  B. 
Brown,  etc.  New  York,  1832. 

History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Arts  of  Design 
in  the  United  States ;  by  William  Dunlap.  New  York, 
1834.  2  vols. 

A  History  of  New  York  for  Schools,  by  William  Dun- 
lap.  In  two  volumes.  New  York,  1837.  i6mo. 

History  of  the  New  Netherlands,  Province  of  New 
York  and  State  of  New  York,  to  Adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution;  by  William  Dunlap.  In  two 
volumes.  New  York,  1839. 

Four  volumes  of  manuscript  journals,  in  New  York  His 
torical  Society:  15,  16,  24,  30. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL  ON  DUNLAP 

The  best  biographical  material  is  found  in  many  refer 
ences  to  himself  in  his  History  of  the  American 
Theatre,  and  also  in  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress 


350    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

of  the  Arts  of  Design  in  the  United  States;  also  in 

the  manuscript  journals  at  the  New  York  Historical 

Society. 
Early  American  Plays    (1714-1830).     By  Oscar  Wegelin. 

Introduction  by  John  Malone.     Dunlap  Society  Pub 
lication.    New  York,  1900;  2d  ed.,  1905. 
New  England  Magazine,  February,  1894 :     Beginnings  of 

American    Dramatic    Literature.      By    Paul    Leicester 

Ford. 
Occasional    Addresses.    Edited   by   Laurence   Hutton   and 

William    Carey.      Published   by   the    Dunlap    Society. 

New  York,  1890.     (Pp.  Si-53-) 
Washington  and  the  Theatre.     By   Paul   Leicester  Ford. 

Published  by  the  Dunlap  Society.     New  York,   1899. 
History  of  New  York  City.     By  Martha  J.  Lamb.     New 

York,  1850.     (Vol.  II,  pp.  352,  353.) 
Old  New  York.     By  John  W.  Francis.     New  York,  1866. 

Pp.  66-68,  and  scattered  notes.) 
References  in  The  Memorial  History  of  the  City  of  New 

York.      By  James   Grant   Wilson.     New   York,    1893. 

(Vols.   II,   III,   IV.) 
Contributions  to  the  Early  History  of  Perth  Amboy.     By 

W.  A.  Whitehead.  New  York,  1856.     (Pp.  97,  126-28, 

139-43,  243,  292-94,  328,  329,  343.) 
Descriptive    Pamphlet   of    Christ    Rejected   by   the    High 

Priests,  Elders  and  People.     Shields,  Ashburn  &  Co., 

Norfolk.     (No  date.) 
History  of  New  York  City.     By  William  L.  Stone.     New 

York,  1872.      (Pp.   134,   151,  241-48.) 
History  of  the  American  Theatre  during  Jhc  Revolution 

and  After.     By  George  O.   Seilhamer.     Philadelphia, 

1889.    (Vol.  I,  pp.  3,  19,  72,  73,  81,  141-43;  Vol.  II,  274- 

80.) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  351 

VIII.      CHARLES    BROCKDEN    BROWN 

WRITINGS     BY    BROWN 

History  of  American  Painting.  By  Samuel  Isham.  New 
York,  1905.  Pp.  ii,  17-24,  43-49,  72-79,  186-89. 

The  Columbian  Magazine.  Philadelphia,  April,  1789. 
(Contains  Brown's  "The  Rhapsodist.") 

The  Weekly  Magazine  of  Original  Essays,  Fugitive  Pieces 
and  Interesting  Intelligence.  Philadelphia.  Vol.  I, 
1798-99.  (Contains  Brown's  "The  Man  at  Home" 
and  "The  Rights  of  Women.")  The  latter  was  printed 
as  Alcuin :  a  Dialogue.  New  York :  Swords,  1798. 
i6mo. 

Wieland  or  the  Transformation :  An  American  Tale. 
New  York,  1798.  i2mo. 

Ormond,  or  the  Secret  Witness.     New  York,  1798. 

Arthur  Mervyn  or  the  Memoirs  of  the  Year  1793.  Phila 
delphia,  1799.  I2mo. 

Edgar  Huntley  or  the  Memoirs  of  a  Sleepwalker.  Phila 
delphia,  1799-1800.  2  vols.  I2tno. 

Clara  Howard  or  the  Enthusiasm  of  Love.  Philadelphia, 
1801. 

Jane  Talbot.  London,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia, 
1801. 

The  Novels  of  Brown  were  reprinted  by  Goodrich,  Bos 
ton,  1827,  in  uniform  edition,  7  vols.  in  6.  I2mo. 

Complete  edition  of  the  Novels  of  Charles  Brockden 
Brown.  Edited  and  published  by  David  McKay. 
Philadelphia,  1887. 

Carwin,  the  Biloquist,  and  other  American  Tales  &  Pieces 
by  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  Author  of  Wieland, 
Ormond,  Arthur  Mervyn,  &c.  In  Three  Volumes. 
London,  1822.  I2mo. 


352    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

An  Address  to  the  Government  on  the  Utility  and  Justice 
of  Restrictions  upon  foreign  Commerce.  (Anon.) 
Philadelphia,  1809.  8vo. 

An  Address  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  on 
the  Cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  French  and  on  the 
Late  Breach  of  Treaty  by  the  Spaniards,  including  the 
Translation  of  a  Memorial,  on  the  War  of  St.  Do 
mingo,  and  Cession  of  the  Mississippi  to  France. 
Drawn  up  by  a  French  Counsellor  of  State.  A  new 
edition,  revised,  corrected,  and  improved.  (Anon.) 
Philadelphia,  1803. 

A  View  of  the  Soil  and  Climate  of  the  United  States  of 
America  with  supplementary  Remarks  upon  Florida, 
etc.,  by  C.  F.  Volney.  Translated,  with  occasional  re 
marks,  by  C.  B.  Brown.  Philadelphia,  1804. 

Editor  of  and  Contributor  to : 

The  Monthly  Magazine  and  American  Review,  Vols. 
I-III,  April,  1799,  to  December,  1800.  New  York: 
Swords. 

The  American  Review  and  Literary  Journal  for  the 
Year,  1801.  New  York :  Sword- 

The  Literary  Magazine  and  American  Register,  Vols. 
I-VIII.  Philadelphia:  Conrad,  1803-7. 

The  American  Register  or  General  Repository  of  His 
tory,  Politics,  and  Science.  Philadelphia,  1806-10. 

Manuscript  letters  in  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

Manuscript  letter  to  Jefferson,  and  reply,  in  Jefferson 
papers  (Library  of  Congress). 

BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    CRITICAL    ON    BROWN 

Life  of  Charles  Brockden  Brown.  By  William  Dunlap. 
2  vols.  New  York,  1815.  (Together  with  Selections 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  353 

from  the  Rarest  of  his  Printed  Works,  from  his 
Original  Letters,  and  from  his  Manuscripts  Before 
Unpublished.) 

A  Library  of  American  Biography.  Edited  by  Jared 
Sparks.  New  York,  1834.  (Vol.  I,  sketch  of  Brown 
by  W.  H.  Prescott.) 

Charles  Brockden  Brown:  A  Study  of  Early  American 
Fiction.  By  Martin  S.  Vilas.  Burlington,  Vt,  1904. 

The  National  Portrait  Gallery  of  Distinguished  Ameri 
cans.  Conducted  by  James  B.  Longacre  and  James 
Herring.  New  York,  1835.  (Vol.  Ill,  from  minia 
ture  by  Dunlap,  engraved  by  Forrest.) 

The  Memorial  History  of  the  City  of  New  York.  By 
James  Grant  Wilson.  New  York,  1893.  (Many  refer 
ences  in  Vols.  Ill  and  IV.) 

A  History  of  Philadelphia.  By  Scharf  &  Westcott,  Phila 
delphia,  1884.  (Vol.  Ill,  p.  1981.) 

The  Literary  History  of  Philadelphia.  By  Ellis  Paxson 
Oberholtzer.  Philadelphia,  1906.  (Many  references.) 

The  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography. 
Philadelphia,  1906.  Vol.  30,  p.  242. 

North  American  Review,  June,  1819.     (Vol.  IX,  p.  58-64.) 

Blackwood's    Magazine,    February,    1820.      (Vol.    VII,    p. 

554-) 
Blackwood's    Edinburgh    Review,    October,    1824.      Vol. 

XVI,  p.  421-26.     (Signed  "X.  Y.  Z.") 
Fortnightly  Review,  September,  1878,  Vol.  30,  pp.  399,  400. 


INDEX 


INDEX 

A 

"A.  B.,"  38 

"A  Bone  to  Gnaw  for  the  Democrats,"  173 
"A  Child  Returning  from  School,"  painting,  270,  272 
A  Group  of  Hartford  Wits,  149-89 
A  History  of  American  Literature,  298,  322 
A  History  of  New  York,  for  Schools,  274,  349 
"A  Laughable  Poem,"  91,  92,  329 
A  Library  of  American  Literature,  62,  321 
"A  Lover  of  Candour,"  38 
"A  Poem  Addressed  to  the  Armies,"  177,  340 
"A  Poem  on  Industry,"  178,  340 
"A  Poem  on  the  Happiness  of  America,"  181,  340 
"A  Poem  on  the  Restoration  of  Chaos  and  Night,"  152,  154 
"A  Poem  on  the  Rising  Glory,"  66,  67,  328 
"A    Poem  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  George  Washington,"  185, 

342 

"A  Political  Catechism,"  41 
"A  Pretty  Story,"  28,  129,  324 
"A  Prophecy,"  28,  30,  31,  129,  324 
"A  Speech  of  a  Standing  Member,"  53 
"A  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Yale  College,"  112,  338 
"A  Trip  to  Niagara,"  260,  348 
"A  View  of  the  Soil,"  etc.,  309,  352 
"A  Voyage  to  Boston,"  69,  70,  328 
Abaellino,  347 

Adams,  Charles  Francis,  219,  231,  344,  345 
Adams,  John,  references  to,  51,  83,  125,  127,  130,  138,  139,  163, 

203,  208,  220;    Letters  to  His  Wife,  21,  51,  327 
Adams,  John   Quincy,  references  to,    218,    220,    231,   344,   345; 

Memoirs  of,  219,  231,  345 
Adams,  Samuel,  9 
Addison,  Joseph,  19,  in,  114 
"Advertisement  of  a  Coquette,"  117,  119 

357 


358    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"Advice  to  the  Ladies  not  to  Neglect  the  Dentist,"  94 

"Advice  to  the  Privileged  Orders,"  338 

"Advice  to  Young  Authors,"  91 

Aitkin,  R.,  28,  324 

A  leu  hi,  292,  351 

Aldrich,  George  I.,  203,  204,  345 

Allen  Paul,  226 

"Almanack-Maker,  The,"  76 

Alsop,  Fanny,  183 

Alsop,  Richard,  13,  150,  161,  162,  167,  169,  182,  342,  343 

"American  Addison,"  194,  206 

American  Antiquarian  Society,  The,  vi,  41,  89,  324,  330 

American  Antiquities,  The,  155,  158,  188,  337 

American  Company  of  Actors,  The,  238,  247 

American  Fiction  in  Development,  279,  280,  281 

American  Historical  and  Literary  Curiosities,  346 

American  History,  early  periods,  v,  3,  8,  9 

"American  Independence,"  a  poem,  328 

American  Lands  and  Letters,  136,  322 

"American  Liberty,"  a  poem,  328 

American  Literature  from  1765  to  1815,  4,  9,  14,  15 

American  Museum,  The,  53,  54,  56,  95,  321,  325,  326 

American  Philosophical  Society,  8,  20,  24,  25,  32,  36,  325 

American  Poems  (1793),  137,  166,  187,  321,  333,  338 

"American  Turtles,"  39 

Ames,  Fisher,  13 

"An  Address  to  the  Government,"  etc.,  309,  351 

"An  Elegy  on  the  Times,"  126,  127,  335 

"An  Elegy  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  Mrs.  Ann  Graeme,"  22,  323 

"An  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Gen.  Israel  Putnam,"  340 

"An  Essay  on  the  Use  and  Advantages  of  the  Fine  Arts,"  112- 

"4,333 

"An  Exercise  Containing  a  Dialogue,"  etc.,  22,  323 
"An  Oration  before  the  Connecticut  Society,"  341 
"An  Oration  Spoken  at  Hartford,"  341 
"An  Oration  Which  Might  Have  Been  Delivered,"  52,  324 
Anac  reon,  223,  225 
Anarch,  152,  156,  157 


INDEX  359 

Anderson,  Rev.  Joseph,  108,  336,  343 
Andre",  Major  John,  236,  258 
Andre,  play,  235,  254-58,  262,  347 
Androborus,  236 
Anti- Federalists,  45,  46,  78,  81 
"Aquiline  Nimblechops,"  167 
Appeal  to  the  World,  9 
"Apostrophe  to  Fancy,"  99 
Arbuthnot's  History  of  John  Bull,  30 
"Aristocracy,"  an  epic  poem,  338,  343 
Arthur  Mervyn,  291,  292,  297-300,  351 
Atlantic  Monthly,  The,  338 
Aurora,  The,  98,  164 
Austin,  Mary  S.,  73,  87,  331 

B 

Babcock,  Elisha,  337 

Bache,  Benjamin  Franklin,  98,  164,  165 

Bailey,  Francis,  76,  89 

"Ballads  of  Taxes  and  Tea,"  n 

Banks,  Sir  Joseph,  340 

"Barabbas  and  the  Thieves,"  painting,  271 

Barlow,  Joel,  143,  150,  152,  157,  161,  162,  169,  I7o-73,'i8i,  203, 

338,  339 

Barrell,  Joseph,  207 
Bartow,  Thomas,  242,  243 
"Basket  Song,"  251,  252 
Basset,  Frank  G.,  341 
"Battle  of  the  Kegs,"  39,  40,  41,  95,  324 
"Beauties  of  Santa  Cruz,"  72 
Beers,  Henry  A.,  296 
Berkeley,  Governor  William,  236 
Berni,  Francisco,  342 

Bibliography  of  the  Works  of  Philip  Freneau,  129,  327 
Bibliography  o)  Vermont,  239 
Bidwell,  Barnabas,  238 
Biennial  Reports  of  the  Dunlap  Society,  235 
Biglow  Papers,  The,  136 


360    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Graduates  of  Yale  College,  336 

Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  326 

Bird,  Dr.  Seth,  185 

Bishop  of  Worcester,  23,  26 

Blackwood's  Edinburgh  Review,  316,  317,  353 

Bleecker,  Anthony,  271 

Blue  Beard,  260,  348 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  57 

Borden,  Ann,  27 

Borden,  Joseph,  27 

Borden,  Madam,  27 

Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  27,  55,  57 

Boston,  10,  63,  69,  118,  124,  125,  126,  128,  130,  132,  133,  137, 

149,  194,  195,  197,  198,  200,  214,  236,  252 
Boston  Chronicle,  115,  116,  117,  335 
Boston  Gazette,  n,  322 
Boston  News  Letter,  195 
Boston  Port  Bill,  126 
Bracebridge  Hall,  102 

Brackenridge,  Hugh  Henry,  12,  65,  66,  67,  68,  72,  163,  237,  281,  282 
Bradstreet,  Anne,  5 
Brattleboro,  Vt.,  201 

Brinton  Eliot;  from  Yale  to  Yorktown,  119,  336 
"Brook  of  the  Valley,  The,"  101,  102 
Brown,  Charles  Brockden,      193,   218,   267,   282-318,  351,  352, 

353;    environment  and  influences  upon  his  fiction,  282-86; 

life  in  New  York,  288-91;    as  novelist  in  New  York  and 

Philadelphia,   291-305;    as  journalist  and  essayist,  306-10; 

illness  and  death,  314,  315;  personality  and  influence,  316-18 
Brown,  William  Linn,  314 

Brown  University  Library,  69,  91,  132,  327,  329,  334 
Bryant,  William  C,  14,  15,  102,  184 
Buckingham,  J.  T.,  201,  202,  205,  333,  345 
Burgoyne,  General  John,  37,  38,  137,  236 
Burr,  Aaron,  65,  168 
Burrow,  James,  23,  24,  25 
Bushncll,  David,  39 
Bulter's  Hudibras,  134,  136 


INDEX  361 


C 

Cadwallader,  General  Thomas,  218 

"Calamus,"  38,  52,  325 

Caleb  Williams,  282,  283,  297 

"Calumniator,"  38 

"Calvary,"  painting,  272 

"Camp  Ballad,"  38 

Campbell,  Hollis  A.,  341 

Canary  Islands,  93 

"Captain  Freneau,"  76,  94 

Carey,  William,  272,  349 

Carlisle,  David,  Jr.,  200,  344 

Carwin,  the  Biloquist,  295,  316,  351 

"  Causes  of  American  Discontents,"  10 

"Cautious,"  38,  325 

Chapter  Sketches,  D.  A.  R.,  174,  341 

Charles  Brockden  Brown:  A  Study,  353 

Charlestown,  N.  H.,  196,  197,  200 

Charlotte  Temple,  281 

"Charms  of  Fancy,  The,"  169,  182,  183,  184 

Chauncy,  Charles,  10 

"Chester,"  hymn,  12 

Chew,  Benjamin,  21 

Qiilds  and  Swaine,  77,  80 

"Christ  Bearing  the  Cross,"  painting,  269 

"  Christ  Rejected,"  painting,  268,  269 

Chusetown,  Conn.,  178 

Cibber,  Colley,  263 

Clapp,  Colonel  W.  W.,  198,  216,  345 

Clara  Howard,  303,  351 

"Climenole,"  218 

Clinton,  Governor  George,  48,  100,  271 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  73 

Club  for  Colonial  Reprints,  69,  327 

Cobbett,  William,  164,  173 

Cogswell,  Dr.  Mason,  150,  161,  182,  186,  342 

Cole,  Thomas,  272 

Coleridge,  Samuel  T.,  72 


362    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

College  of  Philadelphia,  20,  21,  22,  23,  149 

"Columbia,"  an  ode,  12 

Common  Sense,  1 29 

Congreve,  William,  19 

Connecticut  Courant,  128,  129,  165,  167,  335 

Connecticut  Gazette,  no 

Connecticut  Historical  Society,  vi,  142,  143,  151,  161,  165,  182, 

'87,  336>  337.  339,  342 
Connecticut  Mirror,  182 
"Conquest  of  Canaan,"  173,  180 
"Conspiracy  of  Kings,"  170,  338 
Continental  Congress,  21,  27,  28,  125 
Continental  Loan  Office,  31 

Contributions  to  Early  History  oj  Perth  Am  hoy,  243,  350 
Cooke,  George  Fred,  267 

Cooper,  J.  Fenimore,  14,  15,  261,  301,  302,  318 
Cooper,  T.  Apthorp,  267 
Copley,  John  Singleton,  57,  272 
Cornelia,  236 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  73 
Cowper,  William,  104,  215 
Crafts  Tavern,  202 
"Crispin  O'Connor,"  94 

Critical  Observations  on  the  Columbiad,  172,  339 
"Cupid  Sleeping,"  painting,  271 
Curiosities  0}  Literature,  205,  346 
Gushing,  Thomas,  127 
Cyclopaedia  of  American  Literature,  75,  321 

D 

Darby's  Return,  248,  347 

Darley,  Mrs.,  266,  271 

D'Auberteul,  160 

Davis,  M.  L.,  90 

Deane,  Silas,  128 

"Death  on  the  Pale  Horse,"  painting,  270 

De  Bcllare  Superbos,  338 

Decatur,  Captain  Stephen,  98 


INDEX  363 

Declaration  of  Independence,  12,  19,  27,  216 

Defoe,  Daniel,  299 

Delancey,  Edward  F.,  332 

Delaplaine's  Repository  of  Distinguished  Americans,  51,  326 

Democracy,  pamphlet,  167 

Democratiad,  The,  164,  165 

Dennie,  Joseph,  193-231,  343,  344,  345;  early  life  and  college, 
194-96;  as  lawyer  and  lay  reader,  196-99;  as  editor  of 
Farmer's  Museum,  200-02;  The  Portfolio,  219-27;  Lay 
Sermons,  228-39 

Derby,  Conn.,  174,  175 

Descriptive  Pamphlet  of  Christ  Rejected,  350 

"Design  of  the  Preacher,"  197 

"Destruction  of  Babylon,"  125 

Detroit,  Mich.,  143 

Dexter,  Franklin  B.,  336 

Dialogues  of  the  Dead,  52 

"Dick  Hairbrain,"  122,  124,  334 

Dickens,  Ashbury,  214 

Dickinson,  John,  10,  n,  48,  322 

Discours  en  vers,  177 

Dogood  Papers,  7 

"Dr.  Yorick,"  228 

Draper,  Lyman  C.,  333 

Drone  Club,  267 

Duche,  Jacob,  21 

Duke  of  Devonshire,  236 

Dunciad,  The,  153 

Dunlap  Exhibition,  272 

Dunlap,  John  Read,  253 

Dunlap,  Samuel,  242 

Dunlap  Society,  235,  239,  247,  256,  262,  346,  347,  350 

Dunlap,  William,  14,  235-75,  283,  288,  292,  293,  312,  346-50; 
early  influences  and  first  efforts  at  art,  242-46;  career  as 
playwright  and  theater  manager,  247-63,  265;  Andre,  254- 
58;  histories  of  theater,  art,  and  New  York,  263-65,  266-68, 
272;  his  work  summarized,  274,  275;  his  Journals  quoted^ 
183,  252-56,  268,  269,  273,  290,  293;  bibliography,  346-50 


364    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Dwight,  Theodore,   14,   150,   161,   166,  167,   168,   181,   182,  332, 

341,  342 
Dwight,  Timothy,  9,  12,  13,  112,  115,  118,  137,  150,  168,  169, 

X72»  X73»  J74,  180,  181,  205-07,  254 


Early  American  Plays,  235,  248,  259,  262,  346,  350 

Echo,  The,  161-68,  182,  301 

Edgar  Huntley,  293,  301,  303,  351 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  5 

"Eglantine,"  222 

Elizabethan  Dramatists,  149 

Ella;  a  Norwegian  Tale,  349 

"Ella  and  Birtha,"  77 

Elliot,  Andrew,  244 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  15,  102 

Eminent  Pfiiladelphians,  287 

Emmons,  Nathaniel,  no 

"Epistle  to  Col.  Humphreys,"  137 

Essays  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  322 

Etting,  Frank  M.,  314 

Everest,  Charles  W.,  186,  335 

Ewald,  Captain,  55 

Ewing,  Samuel,  218 

Extracts  from  Democracy,  167 


Fairfield,  Conn.,  180,  181 

False  Shame,  or,  the  American  Orphan,  347 

"  Farmer  Dobbin's  Complaint,"  94 

Farmer,  James  Eugene,  119 

Farmer's  Weekly  Museum,  200,  202,  209,  213,  214,  215,  344 

"  Father  Abraham,"  6 

"Father  Bumbo's  Pilgrimage,"  67,  327 

"Federalism  Triumphant  in  the  Steady  Habits,"  etc.,  138,  336 

Federalists,  The,  45,  46,  61,  81,  82,  151,  158,  163,  164,  165,  167, 

1 68,  204,  216 
Fennell,  James,  266,  271 


INDEX  365 

Fenno,  John,  77,  81,  83,  84,  85,  214 

Fessenden,  F.  T.  G.,  202 

Flatbush,  L.  I.,  68,  184 

Fontainemlle  Abbey,  348 

Ford,  Paul  Leicester,  6,  22,  34,  178,  237,  322,  323,  326,  350 

Ford,  Worthington  C.,  21,  175,  323 

Forman,  Eleanor,  77 

Forman,  Dr.  Samuel  E.,  82,  84,  331 

Forman,  Major  Samuel,  77,  333 

Fortnightly  Re-view,  353 

Four  Dissertations,  etc.,  23,  324 

"Fractura  Minimi  Digiti,"  274 

Francis,  Dr.  John,  100,  274,  350 

Francis  Hopkinson  and  James  Lyon,  26,  327 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  5-8,  20,  23,  24,  25,  31,  32,  33,  46,  57,  164, 
193,  230,  236,  284,  322 

Freeman's  Journal,  47,  50,  76,  94,  330 

Freneau,  Agnes  Watson,  64 

Freneau,  Mary,  65 

Freneau,  Pierre,  the  elder,  63;   the  younger,  65,  92 

Freneau,  Philip,  9,  12,  14,  61-104,  327~325  early  life  and  verses, 
61-67;  as  teacher,  68,  69;  political  satires,  69-75;  as  mer 
chant,  76,  77,  92,  94;  lyrics  of  nature  and  customs,  76,  83, 
94;  marriage,  77;  editor  and  translator  in  Philadelphia, 
78-85,  89,  90;  poems  of  Indian  life,  95-97;  personality  and 
later  years,  99-102;  Miscellaneous  Works,  91,  93,  97,  329; 
Poems  (1786),  75,  76,  93,  97,  329;  Poems  (1795),  63,  65,  70, 
72,  75,  76>  89,  91,  94,  97,  99,  IOI>  329;  Poems  (1815),  87, 
93,  98,  99,  102,  103,  329;  bibliography,  327-32 

Fresneau,  Andrew,  63 

Friendly  Club  of  Hartford,  150;   of  New  York,  267,  290 

"From  Fond  Frederic  to  Fanny  False  Fair,"  201 

Fulton,  Robert,  171 


Gaine,  Hugh,  references  to,  37,  73;   Journals  of,  22,  326,  332 

Garrick,  David,  236 

Gazette  of  the  United  States,  77,  81,  83,  84,  85,  86,  174,  214 


366    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"General  Gage's  Confession,"  328 

"General  Gage's  Proclamation,"  69,  128,  129 

"General  Gage's  Soliloquy,"  70,  328 

"Genius  of  America,  The,"  137,  156 

Giles,  W.  B.,  82 

Godfrey,  Thomas,  236 

Godwin,  William,  282,  297 

Goodrich,  Samuel  G.,  143,  144,  145,  151,  162,  335 

Granger,  Gideon,  171,  172 

Gray,  Thomas,  103,  104 

Green,  Bartholomew,  Jr.,  195 

Greene,  General  Nathanael,  156,  174 

"Greenfield  Hill,"  173 

Greenleaf,  Thomas,  89,  90 

Griswold,  Rufus,  205,  346 

Guillotina  for  1797,  337 

Guillotina,  The,  165,  167,  337 

H 

"Hail  Columbia,"  15,57 

Hale,  Nathan,  119 

Hall,  Harrison,  344 

Hall,  John  E.,  194,  197,  228,  344,  345 

Hall,  Sarah  E.,  218 

Hallam,  Lewis,  238,  250,  252 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  13,  81,  83,  84,  139,  159,  309,  323 

Hamilton,  Andrew,  20 

Hamilton,  John  C.,  159,  323 

Hancock,  Governor  John,  10,  127,  163 

"  Happiness  of  America,"  181 

"Harriet  Simper,"  123,  124,  334 

Hart,  Albert  Bushnell,  323 

Hart,  Charles  Henry,  346 

Hartford,  Conn.,  132,  138,  150,  183,  185,  252,  253 

"Hartford  Wits,"  137,  149-89,  301 

Hartlcburg  Castle,  26 

Harvard  College,  97,  in,  149,  194,  195 

"Hasty  Pudding,"  170,  338 


INDEX  367 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  15,  318 

"Hearts  of  Oak,"  n 

"Helvetic  Liberty,"  251 

Henkels,  Stan  V.,  271 

Henry,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John,  247,  265 

Henry,  Patrick,  10,  13 

Herrick,  Robert,  44 

Herring,  James,  321,  326,  353 

Hildeburne,  Charles  R.,  27,  41,  326,  332 

Historic  Houses  of  New  Jersey,  326,  332 

Historical  Magazine,  The,  128,  136 

Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  vi,  7,  22,  26,  56,  67,  82,  91, 
165,  201,  288,  312,  326,  332,  352 

History  of  American  Painting,  264,  270,  350 

History  of  American  Literature,  15 

History  of  Car  sol,  314 

History  of  Journalism  in  the  United  States,  77,  333,  345 

History  of  New  Netherlands,  274,  349 

History  of  the  American  Theatre,  241,  242,  247,  248,  250,  252, 
255,  261,  263,  349 

History  of  the  City  of  New  York,  248 

History  of  New  York  City,  350 

History  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  66,  332 

History  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  341 

History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Arts  of  Design,  243,  244, 
245,  264,  349 

Hodgkinson,  actor  (Meadowcraft),  249,  250,  251,  252,  253,  254 

Hogan,  Edmund,  34,  326 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  103 

"Honorius,"  130,  131,  132 

Hopkins,  Joseph,  158 

Hopkins,  Dr.  Lemuel,  142,  150,  152,  159,  164,  165,  166,  185,  186, 
187,  189,  337,  343 

Hopkins  Medical  Society,  185 

Hopkins,  Stephen,  9 

Hopkinson,  Francis,  12,  13,  19-58,  70,  95,  129,  323-27;  inheri 
tance  and  youth,  19-21;  friendship  with  Franklin,  24-26; 
friendship  with  Jefferson,  34-37,  42;  "  A  Pretty  Story,"  29-31; 


368    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"Battle  of  the  Kegs,"  39-41;  Seven  Songs,  41-43;  The  New 
Roof,  47-49;  writings  on  education,  etc.,  52,  53,  54;  per 
sonality  and  elegies,  51,  52,  56-58;  bibliography,  323-27 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  57,  218 

Hopkinson,  Mrs.  Joseph,  223 

Hopkinson,  Mrs.  Mary,  20,  21,  23,  24,  25 

Hopkinson,  Mrs.  Oliver,  26,  33,  43,  49,  50,  224,  325 

Hopkinson,  Thomas,  20,  23 

"House  of  Night,  The,"  72,  73 

Howe,  Joseph,  1 18 

Hubbard,  Leverett,  137 

Hubbard,  Sarah,  137 

Hudibras,  134,  136 

Hudson,  Frederic,  77,  333,  345 

Hull,  Captain  Isaac,  98 

Humphreys,  David,  life  and  writings,  174-81,  339,  340;  refer 
ences  to,  13,  119,  150,  152,  156,  157,  160,  169,  266 

Humphreysville,  Conn.,  179 

Hunt,  Samuel,  203 

Hunter,  Mrs.  Ann,  95,  97 

Hunter,  Governor  Robert,  236 

"Hunting-Call,"  44 

Hutchinton,  Governor,  Thomas,  12 

Hutton,  Laurence,  272,  350 

"Hypocrite's  Hope,  The,"  187 


Illustrated  Ballad  History  o)  the  American  Revolution,  321 

"II  Penseroso,"  22,  323 

"Impeachment  and  Trial  of  Francis  Hopkinson,"  34 

Independence  Hall,  21,  54 

Independent  Gazeteer,  47 

"  Indian  Burying-Ground,  The,"  96 

Indian  Character,  96,  97,  302 

Indian  poems  by  Freneau,  95-97 

Initial  Studies  in  American  Letters,  296 

"  Interment  of  Saul,"  195 

Irving,  Washington,  14,  15,  102,  318 


INDEX  369 


"Isabelle  Sprightly,"  117 

Isham,  Samuel,  264,  270,  271,  350 

Issues  of  the  Press  of  Pennsylvania,  41,  332 


"  Jack  Dapperwit,"  115 

Jackson,  Paul,  21 

Jacobinical  leaders  and  plans,  163,  164,  165,  221 

Jane  Talbot,  303,  153 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  MS.  letters  of  and  to,  34,  35,  36,  44,  78,  305, 
306,  325,  352;  references  to,  13,  34,  43>  44,  65,  77,  78,  79,  80, 
81,  83,  87,  88,  167,  168,  174,  175,  179,  216,  305,  306,  307, 

3°9»  325 

Jersey  Chronicle,  89,  331 
Jerseymen  in  the  Revolution,  71 
Jessica,  314 

"Joel  Barlow  to  His  Fellow  Citizens,"  339 
"  John  Burgoyne's  Proclamation,"  37 
John  St.  Theater,  247,  251,  274 
Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  82,  331 
Johnson,  William,  287 
Johnstone,  Henry  P.,  341 

K 

Kalorama,  172 

Kearny,  James,  64 

Kettell,  Samuel,  187,  321,  335 

"King  George  The  Third's  Soliloquy,"  72 

"King  George's  Speech  to  Lord  North,"  72 

Kingsley,  William  I.,  112,  338 

"Knickerbocker  Group,"  149 

Knickerbocker  History  of  New  York,  102,  318 

Koopman,  Harry  Lyman,  328 


"Lake  Poets,  The,"  149 
Lamb,  Martha  J.,  248,  350 
"L' Allegro,"  22,323 


370    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"L' Amoroso,"  314 

Latta,  James,  21 

Law,  Jonathan,  172,  173 

Lay  Preacher,  The,  195,  197,  210,  343,  344 

Lay  Sermons,  195,  197 

Le  Jugement  de  Salomon,  260 

Leacock,  John,  237 

Lead  beater,  Agnes  Freneau,  100 

Leather  stocking,  261 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  13 

Lenox  Library,  vi,  201,  328,  334,  338 

Letter  to  Lord  Howe,  37 

Letter  to  the  Hon.  W.  R.  Spencer,  224 

Letter  Written  by  a  Foreigner,  29 

Letters  by  Robert  Slender,  91,  329,  330 

Letters  from  a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania,  10,  322 

Letters  from  Silesia,  218 

Letters  from  the  Hon.  David  Humphreys,  340 

Letters  by  Cato  to  the  People  of  Pennsylvania,  30 

Liberty  Songs,  1 1 

Library  Company  of  Philadelphia,  vi,  8,  330 

Library  of  American  Biography,  A,  285,  307,  311,  353 

Library  of  Congress,  34,  69,  78,  83,  112,  132,  165,  316,  327,  328, 

332.  333»  337.  339 
Life  and  Letters  of  Joel  Barlow,  339 

Life  of  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  283,  285,  286,  312,  314,  349,  352 
Linn,  Elizabeth,  311 
Linn,  John  Blair,  218,  311 
"Lines  on  Leaving  Philadelphia,"  223 

List  of  Books  Printed  in  Connecticut,  from  1709  to  1800,  336,  338 
Litchfield,  Conn.,  166,  185,  187 
Literary  History  of  Philadelphia,  326,  332 
Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  15,  no,  114,  322, 

327»  333 

Livingston,  Henry  Brockholst,  167 
Livingstone,  William,  5 
London  Morning  Herald,  76 
Longacre,  James  B.,  321,  326,  353 


INDEX  371 


Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  102 
Longworth,  David,  93,  98 
Lord  Leicester,  249,  250,  348 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,  28,  335 
Lovers'  Vows,  348 
"  Lucy  Gray,"  221 


M 


Maclean,  John,  66,  332,  333 

MacMaster,  John  Bach,  52,  322 

Madison,  James,  Papers  o},  65,  68,  90,  99,  332;   references  to,  78 

81,  89,  98 

Magaw,  Samuel,  21 

Magazine  of  American  History,  333,  346 
Malone,  John,  262,  346 
"Mark  Twain,"  151 
Marmion,  75 

Marquis  de  Chastelleux,  127,  136 
Marshall,  John,  213 
Mason,  Jeremiah,  203,  207,  344 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  vi,  78,  112,  177,  183,  207,  211 

328>  344 

Matthews,  J.  Brander,  256 
"  May  to  April,"  76 

May  Day;  or,  New  York  in  an  Uproar,  239 
Mayhew,  Rev.  Jonathan,  10 
McFingal,  or  M'Fingal,  127-36,  334,  335 
McKay,  David,  316,  351 
McKee,  Thomas  J.,  239,  247,  347 
Meigs,  Colonel  Return  J.,  174 

Memoirs,  Journal,  and  Correspondence  0}  Thomas  Moore,  224,  345 
Memoirs  o}  George  Fred  Cooke,  349 
Memoirs  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  219,  231,  345 
Memoirs  of  Stephen  Calvert,  314 
Memoirs  of  the  Administration  of  Washington  and  John  Adams, 

142 
Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County,  135,  136,  182,  336,  339, 

342,  343 


372    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Menut,  A.,  90 

Mercenary  Match,  The,  238 

"Mercutio,"  225 

Michaux,  Dr.  Pierre,  274 

Middletown,  Conn.,  183 

Mills,  W.  Jay,  326,  332 

Milton,  John,  in,  180 

Mirabeau,  159;   "Mirabeau,"  163 

Miscellaneous  Essays  and  Occasional  Writings,  28,  30,  31,  36,  41, 

42,  49,  52,  54,  55,  56,  324 

Miscellaneous  Works  of  David  Humphreys,  176,  179,  180,  339 
Miscellaneous  Works  of  Philip  Frencau,  91,  92,  329 
"Miserable  Life  of  a  Pedagogue,  The,"  68,  69 
Mitchell,  Donald  G.,  136,  322 
Modern  Chivalry,  282 

Modern  Learning  Exemplified  by,  etc.,  54,  325 
Modest  Soldier,  or  Love  in  New  York,  247 
"Moggy  Lawder,"  40 
Molina's  History  of  Chili,  183,  342 
Monmouth,  N.  J.,  64,  65,  73,  81,  87,  88,  89,  92,  100 
Mont  Pleasant,  64 
Moore,  Bishop  Channing,  271 
Moore,  Frank,  n,  321,  322 
Moore,  Thomas,  references  to,  57,  222,  223,  224,  225;    writings 

of,  224,  344,  345 
Morewood,  Mr.,  207 
Morris,  George  P.,  271,  272 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  50,  218 
Morris,  Lewis  R.,  211,  212 
Morris,  Robert,  49,  164 
Morton,  Sarah  Wcntworth,  280 
Mount  Vernon,  175,  176;  ode,  176 
"My  Generous  Heart  Disdains,"  44 

N 

Narrative  of  a  Journey  down  the  Ohio,  77,  333 

Nassau  Hall,  65,  149 

National  Academy  of  Design,  270,  271 


INDEX  373 

National  Gazette,  45,  81,  82,  83,  85,  90,  94,  214,  331 

New  and  Original  Lay  Sermons,  227,  344 

New  England  Galaxy,  198,  346 

New  England  Magazine,  350 

New  England  Primer,  109 

New  Haven  Gazette,  151,  153,  154,  337 

New  Jersey  Gazette,  39 

New  Roof,  The,  47,  48,  49,  50,  324 

"New  Travels  of  M.  Abbe  Robin,"  90 

New  York  City,  63,  64,  77,  78,  79,  80,  90,  94,  100,  101,  129,  143, 

222,  226,  238,  239,  244,  248,  250,  287,  291,  308,  315 
New  York  Daily  Advertiser,  77 
New  York  Daily  Gazette,  246 
New  York  Historical  Society,  vi,  26,  128,  165,  182,  245,  252,  268, 

272,  328 

New  York  Journal,  90 
New  York  Mercury,  22,  326 
New  York  Mirror,  332 
New  York  Spectator,  71,  332 
Nicholson,  John,  164 
Niles,  Nathaniel,  12 
Norfolk,  266,  268,  269,  308 
North  American  Review,  296,  353 
North,  Lord,  12,  23,  26,  29 


Oakwood  Press,  The,  41 

Oberholtzer,  Ellis  Paxson,  326,  332,  345,  353 

"  Ode  to  Fancy,"  99 

"  Ode  to  Liberty,"  98 

"Ode  to  Sleep,"  118,  119 

"  Of  Precipitation,"  196 

Ogden,  Aaron,  65 

Old  New  York,  274,  350 

"Oliver  Oldschool,"  215,  344 

"  On  a  Patient  Killed  by  a  Cancer  Quack,"  187 

"On  Annual  White- Washings,"  56,  325 

"On  the  Pleasures  of  Study,"  229 


374    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

"  On  the  Sleep  of  Plants,"  83 

"One  of  the  People,"  38 

Origin  of  McFingal,  69,  128,  129,  136,  336 

Ormond,  or,  the  Secret  Witness,  297,  351 

Orwell,  Vermont,  270 

Ossian,  132,  183 

Otis,  James,  10,  127 

"Our  Saviour  and  Mary  Magdalene,"  painting,  271 

Oxford  Movement,  149 


Paine,  Thomas,  129 

Paltsits,  Victor  Hugo,  61,  69,  77,  129,  327,  328,  331 

Pamphlets  on  the  Constitution  o/  the  United  States,  323 

Park,  Dr.  E.  A.,  no 

Park  Theater,  251,  258 

Parsons,  Theophilus,  220,  221 

"Pasquin  Petronius,"  162,  337 

Pattee,  Fred  L.,  61,  64.  88,  330 

Patterson,  William,  48 

Paulding,  J.  K.,  318 

Penelopen,  65 

Pennsylvania  Gazette,  53 

Pennsylvania  Ledger,  39 

Pennsylvania  Magazine  oj  History  and  Biography,   27,   28,   55, 

3*5.  326»  353 

Pennsylvania  Magazine  or  American  Monthly  Museum,  324 
Pennsylvania  Packet,  38,  41,  48,  76,  97,  324,  325,  329 
Pennsylvania  State  Trials,  34,  326 
Pequot  Library,  170,  173,  339 
Perth  Amboy,  242,  243,  267,  292,  350 
"Peter  Grievous,"  28,  324 
"  Peter  Parley,"  143,  144 
"  Peter  Pindar  of  America,"  94 
"Peter  Porcupine,"  164 
"Peter  Quince,"  203 
Peters,  Richard,  20 
Philadelphia,  City  of,  8,  22,  24,  27,  35,  36,  52,  53,  56,  57,  76,  78, 


INDEX  375 

79,  81,  83,  84,  88,  94,  98,  129,  194,  205,  212,  214,  215,  222, 
224,  225,  226,  227,  228,  266,  271,  284,  291,  292,  298,  309, 
315,  316,  317,  326,  332,  345,  353 
Philadelphia  Jockey  Club,  164,  165 
Philadelphia  Souvenir,  The,  194,  198,  228,  345 
"  Philadelphiensis,"  47 

Philip  Freneau,  The  Huguenot  Poet-Patriot,  332 
Philip  Freneau,  The  Poet  0}  the  Re-volution,  73,  87,  88,  331 
Pickering,  Timothy,  78,  177,  211,  212,  213;   Papers,  78,  79,  211, 

2I3>  332>  344 

"Pilot  of  Hatteras,  The,"  83,  94 
Pintard,  John,  77,  78 
Piscatawa,  244 
Poe,  Edgar  Allen,  72,  318 
"Poem  Addressed  to  the  Armies,"  176,  177 
"Poetical  Address  to  Franklin,"  286 

"Political  Activities  of  Philip  Freneau,  The,"  82,  84,  331 
"Political  Greenhouse,  The,"  166,  337 
Ponteach,  236 
"Poor  Richard,"  6 

Pope,  Alexander,  19,  103,  114,  153,  199 
"Porcupine  Press,"  162 
Porter,  General  P.  B.,  271 
Potter,  Dr.  Jared,  185 
Post,  Dr.  Wright,  274 
"Powers  of  Genius,"  311 
Pre-Raphaelites,  149 

Prescott,  William  H.,  Sketch  of  Brown,  285,  307,  311,  353 
Prime,  Dr.  Benjamin,  5,  9 
Princess  Anne  Academy,  68 
Progress  of  Dulness,  54,  115,  119,  120-24,  333 
Proposals  Relating  to  the  Education,  etc.,  7,  322 
Proud,  Robert,  285 
Provincial  Council  of  New  Jersey,  27 
Putnam,  General  Israel,  174,  175,  340 

Q 

Quincy,  Edmund,  217,  345 

Quincy,  Josiah,  217,  218,  266,  345 


376    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

R 

Radcliffe,  Ann,  282 

Raritan  River,  244 

Raynal,  Abbe*,  159,  160 

Reciprocal  Advantages  0}  a  Perpetual  Union,  23 

Recollections  o)  a  Lifetime,  144,  145,  151,  162 

Reeve,  Judge  Tappan,  151 

Repository  of  the  Lives,  etc.,  51 

Ribbemont,  or  the  Feudal  Baron,  260,  347 

"Richard  and  Kenneth,"  painting,  271 

Riggs,  Luther  G.,  151,  337 

Rights  o/  the  Colonies,  9 

Riley,  Isaac,  162,  337 

Rinaldo  Rinaldini,  260,  261,  348 

Rip  Van  Winkle,  318 

"Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Differences,"  10 

Rivington,  James,  37,  73 

"Robert  Slender,"  91,  92 

Robertson,  William,  159,  160 

Rogers,  Major  Robert,  236 

Rolliad,  The,  153 

Root,  Mary  P.,  341 

Rowson,  Susanna,  281 

Royal  West  India  Company,  63 

Runic  Poetry,  183,  342 


Salmagundi  Papers,  102,  318 

Sanderson,  John,  326 

Santa  Cruz,  71 

Sarah  Riggs  Humphreys  Chapter,  174 

Sargent,  John,  M.P.,  23 

Sargent,  Margaret,  242 

Scandella,  Dr.  Joseph,  291 

"Scene  from  Cooper's  'The  Spy,'"  painting,  271,  272 

Scharf  and  Westcott's  History  oj  Philadelphia,  345,  353 

"Science,"  a  poem,  22,  324 

Scott,  John  Morin,  63 


INDEX  377 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  75 

Seilhamer,  George  O,.  263,  264,  350 

Seven  Songs  for  the  Harpsichord  and  Forte  Piano,  42,  43,  44,  324 

Seymour,  Past  and  Present,  174,  179,  341 

Sharpe,  William  C.,  341 

Shay's  Rebellion,  153,  155,  176 

Shelley,  Percy  B.,  297 

Shelty's  Travels,  249 

Shinn,  Mrs.  Florence  Scovel,  24,  38,  325 

"Shop  of  Colon  and  Spondee,"  201,  203,  218 

Sigourney,  Mrs.  Lydia  Huntley,  140,  141 

"Simon  Spunkey,"  202 

Simpson,  Henry,  287 

"Six  Hours  Lodging  with  Death,"  72 

Sketch  Book,  The,  102 

Sketch  o}  [Joseph]  Dennie,  198,  345 

Sketches  of  a  History  of  the  Carrils  and  Ormes,  314 

Smith,  Dr.  Elihu,  161,  166,  287,  288,  289,  290,  291,  292,  321 

Smith,  Rev.  William,  22,  30,  55 

Smith,  Zephaniah,  151 

Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  157 

Some  Account  of  the  Capture  of  the  Ship  Aurora,  73,  330 

Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  Revolution,  n,  322 

Sonneck,  O.  G.,  26,  327 

Southern  Literary  Messenger,  66 

Southey,  Robert,  180 

Southmayd,  William,  109 

Southport,  Conn.,  170,  339 

Sparks,  Jared,  285 

Specimens  of  American  Poetry,  184,  187,  201,  321,  335 

"Star-Spangled  Banner,  The,"  16 

Stedman,  Edmund  Clarence,  62,  321 

Sterne,  Lawrence,  229 

Stone,  William  L.,  350 

Story,  Isaac,  203 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  151 

Swanwick,  John,  53 

Swift,  Jonathan,  19,  199,  229 


378    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

T 

"T.  L.,"84,  85 
Tayloe,  John,  172 
Taylor,  George,  Jr.,  78 
Tennent,  Rev.  William,  65 
Thacher,  James,  39,  185,  327,  343 
"Thanatopsis,"  102 
The  Adulateur,  237 
The  Author,  66,  67 
The  Africans,  260,  348 
The  Algerine  Captive,  239,  281 
"The  Almanack-Maker,"  76 
"The  American  Hero,"  12 
The  American  Mercury,  337 
Tfie  American  Nation,  323 
Tfie  American  Register,  313,  352 
The  American  Review  and  Literary  Journal,  296,  352 
The  American  Village,  69,  327 
The  Anarchiad,  151-60,  176,  188,  337 
The  Archers,  251,  252,  253,  347 
The  Battle  of  Brooklyn,  237 
The  Battle  oj  Bunker's  Hill,  12,  237 
The  Battle  of  New  Orleans,  260 
The  Blind  Boy,  260,  348 
The  Blockheads,  236 

The  Blockheads,  or  Fortunate  Contractor,  238 
"The  British  Prison-Ship,"  73,  74,  328 
"The  British  Spy,"  220 
"The  Brook  of  the  Valley,"  101,  102 
"The  Canal,"  171,339 

The  Character  of  Thomas  Jefferson  as  Exhibited,  etc.,  332,  342 
"The  Charms  of  Fancy,"  169,  342 
"The  Columbiad,"  169,  170,  339 
Tlie  Columbian  Magazine,  57,  287,  323,  326,  351 
The  Columbian  Songster,  95 

The  Contrast,  96,  201,  238,  239,  240,  241,  242,  246 
"The  Correspondent,"  117 
"The  Country  Printer,"  83 


INDEX  379 

"The  Death-Song  of  a  Cherokee  Indian,"  95,  331 

"The  Decadents,"  149 

The  Democratiad,  164,  165,  337,  343 

"The  Deserted  Farm-House,"  76 

"The  Destruction  of  Babylon,"  125 

The  Dunciad,  153 

"The  Dying  Elm,"  72 

The  Echo,  161-68,  182,  301,  337 

"The  Enchanted  Lake,"  etc.,  342 

"The  Farrago,"  200,  201 

The  Fatal  Deception,  249 

The  Father  of  an  Only  Child,  347 

The  Father;  or,  American  Shandyism,  235,  247,  259,  346,  347 

"The  Genius  of  America,"  137 

The  Georgia  Spec,  239 

The  Ghost,  134 

The  Glory  0}  Columbia,  258,  260,  348 

The  Gold  Bug,  318 

The  Group,  12,  237 

The  Guillotina,  165,  167,  343 

"The  Hall  of  Fantasy,"  318 

"The  Hermit,"  76,  202 

"The  Historic  Muse,"  painting,  270,  272 

"The  House  of  Night,"  72 

"The  Hypocrite's  Hope,"  187 

"The  Indian  Burying-Ground,"  96 

"The  Indian  Student,"  76,  96 

The  Inquisitor,  281 

The  Italian  Father,  348 

"The  Jug  of  Rum,"  83 

"The  Last  Will  and  Testament,"  etc.,  74 

"The  Last  Words,"  etc.,  328 

The  Lay  Preacher,  195,  210,  343,  344 

The  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  see  Literary 

History 

The  Literary  Magazine  and  American  Register,  179,  308,  310,  352 
"The  Man  at  Home,"  292,  351 
"The  Meddler,"  115,  116,  202 


380    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

T kt  Memorial  History  •/  tke  City  •/  .V«w  F«r*.  33 2,  350,  353 

•'The  Midnight  Consultations,"  60,  70 

"The  Miserable  Life  of  a  Pedagogue,"  68,  69 

"The  Monk,"  282 

"The  Monker  Fable,"  180 

The  MtMMMlh  Imqwtr,  331 

7"*e  If  <mf*/v  Mmgnim  «W  ^Mrkm  Xrnrv,  308,  351 

Tbc  Motkr  Assembl 

r**  MyOtrits  of  Utolpk*,  a&* 

Tkt  .YottMM/  P«rCnMT  GtfXfcrr,  311,  3a6,  353 

«r  «^/,  47,  48,  49,  50,  3^4 

Old  Farm  and  the  New  Farm,"  a*. 
'•The  Owi  and  the  Sparrow,"  126 
"The  Parting  Glass,"  101 
Tht  Pitmtrri,   301 

Tkt  P«t*  01  C-m**cm^  186,  335,  341 
Tkt  Political  WritimgsilJid  fiorirr,  339 

rWP«Tl/WMt    »5,   900,    214,    218,   219,    220,    21  x.    226, 

310,544 

-The  Power  of  Sympathy,"  280,  282 

Tkc  Prime*  •}  Pcrtki*,  236 

Tkt  Prvpkecy*  74 

"The  Prospect  of  Peace,"  338 

"The  Rhapsodis^"  287 

"The  Rights  of  Man,"  95 

"The  Rights  of  Women,"  292,  351 

The  Risimg  Gbry  *f  America,  6$ 
Tkt  Rmims  •//»•«*«*,  282 
"The  Schemer,"  115,  116 


Tk*  Spirt  •/  /A*  Farmer's  Mmumm,  202,  344 

r w  Smst**t  r*m£k*r,  236 

Fit  r«UM,  200,  201,  202,  214,  344 
"The  Triumph  of  Democracy,"  167,  341 
-The  Vefl  Removed,"  341 
-The  Vision  of  Cohnnbos,"  170,  358 
"The  Vision  of  N^ht,"  72 


INDEX  3Sl 

The  Voice  of  Nature,    259,  260 

The  Washington-Duche  Letters,  21,  327 

The  Weekly  Magazine,  292,  293,  308,  351 

The  Widow  of  Malabar,  339 

"The  Wild  Honeysuckle,"  76 

The  Yankey  in  England,  179,  341 

The  Yankey  in  London,  239 

Thirty  Years  Ago,  349 

Thomas,  Alexander,  207 

Thomas,  Isaiah,  200,  204,  280 

Thoreau,  Henry  David,  149 

Three  Men  of  Letters,  170,  339 

Time-Piece  and  Literary  Companion,  90,  331 

"Timothy  Tickler,"  164 

Tisdale,  Elkanah,  162 

"To  a  Catydid,"  103 

"To  an  Insect,"  103 

"  To  a  Waterfowl,"  184 

"To  a  Young  Lady  Who  Requested,"  etc.,  126 

"To  Julia,"  222 

"To  the  Americans  of  the  United  States,"  88 

"To  the  Memory  of  the  Brave  Americans,"  etc.,  74 

"To  the  Freemen  of  Connecticut,"  183,  342 

Todd,  Charles  Burr,  170,  339 

"Tom  Brainless,"  120,  121,  124,  334 

Town  and  City  of  Waterbury,  Conn.,  108,  336,  343 

Tracey,  Uriah,  151 

"  Transcendentalists,  The,"  149 

Translation  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  26 

Trent,  W.  P.,  298,  322 

Trumble,  John,  107,  108,  109,  no,  in 

Trumbull,  Benoni,  107 

Trumbull,  James  Hammond,  69,  128,  129,  135,  136,  182,  336 

Trumbull,  John,  artist,  107,  145,  264,  272 

Trumbull,  John,  writer,  9,  12,  13,  14,  54,  70,  107-45,  150,  152, 

158,  161,  166,  168,  181,  182,  203;  boyhood  and  college  days, 

109-15;    as  essayist,  115-17;    Progress  of  Dulness,  119-24; 

M'Fingal,    127-36;    judge,    136;     last   years   and   tributes, 

138-43;  bibliography,  333-36 


382    HERALDS  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 

Trumbull,  Governor  Jonathan,  107,  130,  138,  157 

Tuesday  Club,  217 

Twitchell,  Rev.  Joseph,  151 

"Two  is  Better  than  One,"  228 

Tyler,  Moses  Coit,  15,  no,  119,  170,  322,  339 

Tyler,  Royall,  96,  198,  201,  202,  238,  239,  240,  241,  246,  281,  282 

Tyler,  Thomas  P.,  239 

U 

"  Ulalume,"  72 
United  States  Magazine,  72,  331 

V 

Valedictory  Address  before  the  Cincinnati,  340 

Vaughan,  Henry,  44 

Vaux,  George,  315 

Verplanck,  G.  C.,  272 

"Verses  to  a  Shearwater,"  184,  342 

Victoria,  281 

Victorian  Novelists,  149 

Vilas,  Martin  S.,  316,  353 

Volney,  C.  F.,  352 

Vose,  Royal,  203 

Vreeland,  Helen  Kearny,  73,  331 

W 

Walpole,  N.  H.,  200,  201,  208,  228 

"Walpole  as  It  Was  and  as  It  Is,"  203,  204,  345 

War  of  1812,  9,  13,  98,  181,  260 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley,  151 

Warren,  Caroline,  282 

Warren,  Mercy,  12,  237 

Washington  and  the  Theatre,  248,  350 

Washington,  George,  references  to,  13,  21,  33,  41,  42,  43,  45,  46, 

81,  87,  103,  156,  160,  165,  174,  182,  185,  240,  245,  248,  249, 

258,  286,  323,  341 
"  Washington's  March,"  258 
Waterbury,  Conn.,  107,  138,  185 
Watkinson  Library,  112,  132,  333,  334 


INDEX  383 

Watts,  Isaac,  109 

Webster,  Noah,  139 

Wegelin,  Oscar,  235,  248,  259,  262,  346 

West,  Benjamin,  26,  245,  246,  264,  283 

West,  Samuel,  194 

Westbury,  Conn.,  107,  108 

Whitehead,  William  A.,  243,  350 

Whitehill,  Robert,  48 

Whittier,  John  G.,  102 

W-ieland,  or  the  Transformation,  283,  294-97,  305,  351 

Wigglesworth,  Michael,  5 

Wignell,  Thomas,  238,  239,  240,  248,  249 

Wilkinson,  William,  287 

Williams,  William,  157,  158,  245 

Williamson,  Hugh,  21 

Wilson,  James,  48 

Wilson,  James  Grant,  332,  350,  353 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  323 

"Wimble  War,"  158 

"With  Jemmy  on  the  Sea,"  44,  95, 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  Jr.,  142,  143,  174,  187,  203,  336,  339 

Woodbridge,  Dudley  Bradstreet,  139,  140 

Woodbridge,  Mrs.  William,  140,  143 

Woolman,  John,  5 

Woolsey,  Elizabeth,  246 

Wordsworth,  William,  221,  222 

"Wrongheads,"  157 

X 
"X.  Y.  Z.,»  316,  317,  353 

Y 

"Yale  and  Her  Honor  Roll  in  the  American  Revolution,"  341 
Yale  College  and  University,  no,  in,  112,  117,  118,  119,  124, 

150,  181,  185 

Yankee  Chronology,  260,  348 
"Yankee  Doodle,"  15 


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